Hiding
by Optimus Magnus
Summary: After the death of Sirius Black, the weight of prophecy and the Dursley's on his shoulders, Harry Potter could use someone who understands such burdens. Little does he know, someone does. Crossover
1. Chapter 1

4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. A suburb of the most ordinary houses and lawns a person could ever see. On one of its lawns, a young man worked rather tirelessly to weed the lawn, a look of apathy on his face. Harry Potter was not a well young man.

'No matter what I try, it just won't go away' he thought wearily, looking at his palms.

The Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the papers would call it, Remus Lupin would call it the Last Stand of Sirius Black. Harry called it the worst mistake he'd ever made in his short, and frankly miserable life. The scene replayed in his head over and over, like that slow motion shot from a bad film you'd believe that if someone else moved fast enough, it would play a different way.

'But not matter how fast I move, I can't stop him falling' Harry screwed his eyes up, gritting his teeth.

Sighing after his momentary lapse in apathetic disregard, Harry returned to his weeding. Casting his eyes next door, he saw what had become the talk of the neighbourhood.

Little Whinging was a very 'English' suburb. English trees, English tea and English cars. Most of the residents owned Rovers, while the more affluent would own older model Rolls Royce. Harry even recalled an elderly gentleman in the street whose retirement present to himself had been a Jaguar E Type.

It was no surprise then that the three vehicles that sat in the drive way next door were causing a ridiculous uproar: two were foreign cars, the other a motorbike. It looked nothing like the large one that Sirius had owned. Harry knew next to nothing about cars, but he did know that he liked the black one; it looked angry all the time.

"Shame you can't talk, I could use some company" he muttered.

Nymphadora Tonks watched from her perch in the tree as Harry worked. Grateful for the cooling charms in this appalling heat, she couldn't help but smile sadly. She'd observed the seemingly invincible Harry Potter at great length and she could come to a single conclusion.

He needed to get a friend, here in Surrey. Trouble with that plan was that most of the residents here believed Harry to be a juvenile case. It was with restrained anger that Tonks kept the snort to herself. If these people knew half, even less, of what he put himself through to stop evil itself blasting down their doors, they might be a little less cruel to him.

'Morons, these are people of the worst sort' she thought, retraining her gaze to the young boy.

As the clouds darkened over the suburb, Harry leaned against the fence, not sure if wanted to cry, scream or just curl up and tell the world to go hang. They'd had their chance to defeat Lord Voldemort, they failed at it and now expected him to clear up their stuff ups.

Groaning and standing up, Harry decided to go for a jog. He'd done that a lot lately, focusing on nothing but the movement of his legs. Tonks saw him go and jumped down, following him. When both were out of earshot, the black car Harry admired so much turned over its ignition. Smoothly it pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road, its engine humming.

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Harry's jog had taken him to a familiar park: the one where he often came and thought of Cedric, Sirius and him. Voldemort. The single most evil being he'd ever come across, despite encountering both Malfoy men and knowing the Dursleys.

"Wotcher, Harry" a sad, melodic voice broke the young man's reverie.

"Hey, Nyp-Tonks, how are you?" he asked, nearly forgetting the young Auror hated her first name.

"I've been better, you?" she asked back, carefully removing her cloak.

"I don't know. I really don't" he replied, putting his head in his hands.

"Did you know when Sirius and I were little; one of the things we used to do on our few occasions together was to race?" Tonks said out of the blue.

"Who won?" Harry asked, a small smile gracing his face.

"I did usually, Sirius was stronger than me, but I was thinner and faster. You might be able to give me a run for my money though, skinny britches" she jabbed.

"That a challenge?" Harry asked, his eyes momentarily coming to life.

"Only if you make it one" the pink haired Auror shot back.

As the two bantered, the black car came to a stop just on the outskirts of the park. People passed it by, young men looking over it with appreciation. Without warning, it startled some of the young men around it by pulling out and tearing around the corner to an overpass, tyres screeching in protest.

While all this was happening, Harry and Tonks, for no other reason than because they could, started running full pelt down the path that lead out of the park. Eventually they made it to an underpass and Harry was out of breath.

"I give up, you're too fast, witch" Harry blurted out.

"Oh yeah, can't keep up with little old me in a running race. Want me to morph into an old woman, so next time you can beat me?" Tonks asked, chuckling.

"Oh you're funny, really funny" Harry hacked out, laughing so hard he also coughed.

"We best get you back to Number 4, before you get in trouble" Tonks said, glad to see Harry was getting better, slowly but surely.

"Oh come on, I'm with an Auror, what can possible go wrong?" Harry asked.

Harry's words were poorly chosen. No soon had he spoken that an explosion ripped up the overpass, dropping rocks on both their heads and sending them out cold and practically entombing them. People screamed and ran, panic ensued.

And during it all, that same black car had appeared in the underpass near Harry and Tonks. There was a groan of gears and a clank of metal. Those were the last sounds Harry heard before he passed out.

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Vernon Dursley was watching the news: apparently a bomb had gone off near the park. Vernon thought it was the IRA, but Petunia wondered if perhaps it was that man Harry sometimes mentioned in his sleep. After all, Harry wasn't back yet and they'd received no visits from those scary friends of his.

"I wonder where that useless boy is" Vernon muttered aloud, drinking his glass of Scotch.

"Out causing trouble I dare say" Petunia said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Serve him right if the ruddy police pull him up and toss him in jail I think" pipped up Dudley from the kitchen.

Oblivious to their relative's plight, the neighbour's black car roared into the street, a loud hiss from its blow back valves causing great irritation to all in the street. With a low rumble, it pulled into its driveway, precious cargo in its seats: Harry and Tonks.

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Harry woke up in a bed that was not his own. He knew this because it was large and soft and he was warm too. Groggily he began to sit up but his aching body immediately protested.

"Getting up, hurts. Not a good sign" he moaned.

"No its not, but since you had close to a ton of stone fall on you, it's none too shocking" a strange voice said.

"Who are you?" immediately Harry went for his wand.

"Whoa, no need for that kind of caper son, I'm not going to hurt you" the voice sounded, more or less Irish.

"Answer my question…Tonks, where is Tonks?" Harry was still looking for his wand.

"You mean your pink, or whatever coloured haired piece of crackling? Oh she's in the next room mate, out colder than a bare bum in a storm" the voice replied.

"I swear if you've hurt her…" Harry was without his wand, but not his bravery.

"Well that's bloody gratitude, we bring you in and fix you up-" the Irish voice was interrupted by a crackle of radio.

"If you don't shut up in the next ten seconds I'm going to use you for spares. If the boy is awake, get him some food and water and brings him downstairs" this was a woman's voice.

"Okay, okay, don't get your crotch wiring in a spin, I'm going" he answered.

As the body belonging to the voice left, Harry felt the ground shake a little, as if something very heavy was moving around. Finally laying his hands on his wand, and glasses, he got out of the bed and nearly collapsed too. Pain shot up his legs and back.

'Come on Potter, suck it up, gotta find Tonks and leg it' he thought.

He made it as far as the door before he had to drop to one knee. He managed to crawl to what he thought was Tonk's room before passing out again. It was in that position his benefactor found him again.

"Balls of solid rock. Best get you back into bed" he muttered.

Harry however had been playing possum. With a scream and a grunt, he swung his fist like he'd seen them do on television, aiming for roughly the jaw. Harry was nastily surprised when his fist smashed head on into something that felt like solid steel, breaking his hand open.

"That really did hurt you more than me, trust me kid" that same voice replied.

"Lumos" Harry muttered, the Ministry be damned; he had to see this thing.

He nearly dropped his wand. In front of him stood something roughly human in shape, but not in construction. Metal gleamed under the light as Harry made out feet, legs and four fingered hands. Then he came to the head: it looked like a man wearing a Roman helmet, a small nose like protrusion and what appeared to be a mechanical mouth. A pair of green eyes, eerily like Harry's own stared right back at him.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, the pain in his hand momentarily forgotten.

"The name's Burnout. You?" Burnout offered Harry his hand.

"Harry Potter" he winced as pain spiked his hand, reminding him of his costly attack.

"Hmmm, best let me take a look at that, come downstairs" Burnout hefted Harry to his feet as gently as possible and took him down the stairs and towards the garage.

Inside the garage, Harry saw the two cars his whole neighbourhood had complained about. He was now able to take a good look at them and see what they were. The black one, according to its boot was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V. The other one, a light blue colour was identified as a Subaru WRX STi.

"Where's the motorbike?" Harry asked in a daze as Burnout placed Harry's hand on a steel bench.

"Motorbike, shite mate I'm not just a motorbike, I'm a Kawasaki Ninja GPX 250, one of the fastest ever bikes to be created. I'll trounce you any day of the week" Burnout replied, obviously offended.

"Um, I'm a, oh God" Harry stuttered.

"Ignore him, he's grumpy old bugger" another voice made Harry jump as a small cylinder device was run over his hand.

"Shut your gob, Drift or the next time you split your aft in two it can stay that way a week" Burnout muttered.

"The car is speaking, why is the car speaking?" both Burnout and Harry turned at that voice.

Tonks stood uneasily in the doorway, her wand trained on, whatever she thought Burnout was.

"Could you please put that down, I'm working here" Burnout muttered.

"Harry come and stand behind me" Tonks said.

Before Harry could explain, the black Lancer began to shift its form. The whole front of the car split down the middle and moved outwards. The front wheels rotated sideways 180 degrees and parts of the engine and engine bay split apart and became arms. The lower section of the front body kit that held the car's spotlights rotated and folded down, allowing the kit to act as armour for the shoulders, the front doors wrapping around the lower arms. The bonnet moved between the shoulders and covered the bottom of the car, clearly a chest piece.

A head popped up, made of parts of the dashboard, the rest of the rear of the car compacting and twisting in ways Tonks's couldn't see from her vantage point, so where once there was a car there now stood a robot.

"Hello, my name is Drift, I am an Autobot" he said, bright yellow eyes looking at them.

Both Harry and Tonks, finally hitting their psychological limits, fainted dead away.

"Oh well fucking done, Drift, now I gotta carry em both" Burnout grumbled.

"Don't the need medical attention?" the female Subaru asked.

"Yes, Rally they do, but I don't know where to take them. The local hospital is up to its neck in wounded" Burnout said.

"Wait, I remember the boy mentioned a place in his sleep as I was bringing him here, the only trouble is I can't find it on any maps" Drift offered.

"Hmm, I'll wake the woman up, her injuries were less severe than Harry's" Burnout stepped gingerly over to Tonks.

Very cautiously removing the wand from her hand and placing it inside a subspace storage unit on his left hip, Burnout started shaking Tonks. At first she didn't stir, and then Burnout, getting aggravated, lifted her up and jolted her with a small dose of electricity.

"OW SHIT" she cursed.

"Well at least you're awake now. I'll cut to the chase; the young man there needs medical attention. Where can we take him? He mentioned…" Burnout drifted out and clicked his fingers, pointing to Drift.

"Number 12 Grimmuld Place, ring any bells?" the more polite and larger robot asked.

Tonks was hesitant to answer. If these things were servants of the Dark Lord or just downright hostile entities she'd be revealing the main stronghold for the Order of the Phoenix to an enemy. On the other hand, if Harry was hurt…

"Look lady, we don't have time to figure out the whys and who's at this point. Just direct Drift to where he needs to go and we'll leave you in peace" Burnout gave Tonks another shake.

"Okay" she agreed, hoping to Merlin she hadn't made a huge mistake.

"Drift, get back in to your alt mode" Burnout said, depositing Tonks on her backside.

The friendlier robot quickly reverted to his Evo alt mode, opening his front doors. Tonks gently picked Harry up and placed him in the passenger seat. Once he was seated in it, Drift rearranged the seat's configuration to ensure that Harry's was well immobile to prevent injuries if he had to lather on the speed.

Tonks very warily, wand in hand after getting it back off Burnout, got in the driver side of the car. The doors automatically shut and seatbelts and other safety devices encasing them. Seconds later, Drift roared to life, dark blue lights springing across his dashboard as the garage door opened. Headlights and spotlights on, he all but flew from the garage and began speeding down the streets, Tonks directing him as best she could.

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They had been travelling for a very short time, but Tonks soon discovered that not only was Drift friendly, he was a chatterbox. He spoke of things he'd noticed since appearing in Little Whinging almost a month ago, not the least of which was Harry's perpetual loneliness.

"What's the matter with him anyway, he walks around as if the weight of the world on his shoulder struts?" Drift asked.

"He sort of does, it's a long story that is better told by the young man himself" Tonks said with a sad look.

"Hmm, reach into the centre console there" Drift said as he took a particularly hard corner.

Tonks opened the centre console: inside was a device that looked a lot like those devices that muggles used to contact one another. It was made of sleek black metal and had what she assumed was a viewing screen like a TV on it and a few buttons.

"Give that to Harry, if he wants, he can use it speak to any of us, even Burnout if he's in the mood for a good verbal" Drift said, Tonks could almost feel the car smiling.

"And in return?" Tonks asked.

"What do you mean?" Drift queried.

"I've been around the park a few times, Drift, and I know that you're not a human creation. What's the catch with this on call stuff?" Tonks elaborated her question.

"Just keep the existence of our little home between yourselves, that's all we ask" he replied.

"Fair enough" Tonks leaned back, the gentle vibrations from Drift's chassis lulling her to a more relaxed state.

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Inside Number 12, Alastor Moody stood at the window, watching with his magical eye. He was used to seeing muggle automobiles pass by the house. What he wasn't used to seeing was a car so black that if not for the lights at both ends of it and his eye, he would never know it was there. His surprise turned to suspicion when he saw Tonks get out of the car.

"What the?" he muttered.

His surprise and paranoia increased as he saw Tonks gingerly take Harry out of the other side of the car. Moody didn't need his magic eye to see the boy was in trouble.

"Remus, get outside, Tonks and Harry are here, and the boy looks hurt. I'll get Poppy" he muttered, heading over the fireplace.

Remus didn't need to be told twice, he tore out of the house and onto the lawn where Tonks was carrying Harry in a fireman's lift. Remus paid no heed to the car that sped away, tyres screeching. Gently taking Harry off Tonks who was also clearly injured he guided them both into the house.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Remus asked, laying Harry on one of the opulent couches in the main room.

"There was a bomb explosion on the underpass we were under, we'd been running. Anyway, I got out thanks to a quick Protego, but Harry was out. I had no broom and was too injured to Apparate and there were muggles everywhere, so, I borrowed that car" she explained, using a white lie or two to cover up Drift and his friend's existence.

"Quick thinking, well done" Remus smiled and pointed the newly arrived Poppy Pomfrey to Harry's prone form.

Tonks took the opportunity to finally collapse and relax in a chair. Her body ached from bones outwards, and it didn't take long before she went straight to sleep, vaguely aware of someone throwing a blanket over her.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry awoke sometime later, feeling very sore. As his eyes cracked open he became aware that he was no longer in Privet Drive, but at Grimmuld Place. He was in Sirius's room, in Sirius's bed. That fact made him, sad but not as almost disgusted as it once might have.

"Ah, Harry, good afternoon" a very familiar voice drew Harry's attention to the doorway.

"Remus, hey, how are you?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses.

"Considering the injury you suffered Harry, that is my line. How are you?" he asked back, leaning against a bedpost.

"Considering a great deal of concrete landed on me, I'm ok. I venture Tonks' quick work is why I'm still here" he muttered, gingerly sitting up.

"Hey, take it easy. You've been asleep for three days" Remus placed a hand on Harry's chest, motioning for him to sit down.

"Really, three days. That must have put the frighteners on" Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did it ever. Everyone has been running around like blue arse flies. Molly threatened to find the men who planted that, um, oh blast it all, that thing and curse them till their eyeballs were blue" Remus said, smiling to himself.

"How is Tonks, I think she caught a chunk or two as well" Harry asked, remembering but choosing to omit some details of his rescue.

"She's okay, a few cuts and bruises and a sprained wrist. She's downstairs at the moment, eating, want me to send her up?" Remus asked.

"When she's had her food, I'll be okay for a bit" Harry said.

"Fair enough" his old friend said, grinning and leaving the room.

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Not long after, Tonks appeared, looking much better than the last time Harry's hazy memory accounted her looking. Smiling he sat up in the bed and took just a moment to look at Tonks, having never done so before. Tonks seemed to keep a hight of just under 6", and favoured a heart shaped face with pink hair. Her cloths were a curious mix of magical attire and muggle clothing.

'She's very beautiful' he thought.

"Wotcher, how you holding up Harry?" Tonks asked, smiling.

"I'm okay, thanks to you" Harry paused and looked around, checking as best he could before motioning for Tonks to come closer.

"And thanks to the others" he whispered.

"You remembered then, I thought with the serious concussion you had you might forget" Tonks said wryly.

"Kinda hard to forget a car changing into a robot" he said with a smile.

"Well, since you seem up to it, I'll give you this: Drift, the black one, said you could contact him or the others on it at any time" Tonks palmed him the communicator unit Drift had given her.

"Does it work in places like this?" he asked, under the impression technological devices didn't work properly in magic heavy areas.

"Oddly enough, yes it does. I even apparated to Hogwarts' grounds. It works there too" Tonks seemed mildly afraid at that concept.

Harry was amazed, no muggle technology worked at Hogwarts, none. It started to dawn on him what Tonks clearly had already figured out. Their mysterious saviours were not the product of muggle ingenuity but rather…

"They're from another world" he muttered quietly.

"Hermione was right, you are quick on the uptake" Tonks giggled at him.

Harry stuck his tongue out at Tonks, her giggles somehow making him smile. His brief description of Tonks as beautiful was indeed accurate, however he did reassess where that beauty came from. Tonks was physically attractive; this much spoke for itself. But her fun and her easy nature just lit the room up.

"I'm hungry. I'm going downstairs for some food" Harry said, determined to get up.

Unlike Remus, whom Harry knew had only wanted the best for him and was grateful, Tonks made no move to stop Harry. Why she didn't was a bit of a mystery but, Harry was grateful that Tonks would be there to catch him, but still allowed him to stand on his own two feet.

"Wow, I'm a bit unsteady" he muttered, leaning on a bedpost.

"Here, this should help" Tonks said with a quick swirl of her wand, transfigured an old umbrella into a walking stick.

"Cheers" he said and slowly started to make his way to the door.

'You're a brave and powerful man, Harry Potter' Tonks thought.

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Downstairs, Ron and Ginny were playing wizard chess while Hermione, in a rare show of boredom was not reading, but rather writing, trying to compose something. They were all focused on something else however. Harry.

"Harry, mate, how ya fairing?" Ron asked, standing up.

"Since a small bridge fell on me, not too shabby" he replied with a chuckle.

Hermione didn't say anything but simply looked at Harry, using the cane. While being underneath an overpass that became the victim of what was now confirmed to be a bomb planted by a depressed roads worker was truly just inhumanly bad luck, it still occurred to her that Harry looked as if he was thirty and not sixteen.

"Anyway, food, I need food" Harry said, hobbling towards the kitchen.

"Harry Potter, Dobby is pleased to see you are awake again" a very familiar voice rung in Harry's ears.

"Hey Dobby, would be able to make me a small meal, anything but fish will do" he said, giving the house elf a small hug.

"Dobby would be honoured" the house elf then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"So how much do you remember?" Ginny asked.

"About what, a bridge falling on me?" Harry replied; quirking his lips.

"No, about being rescued by Tonks, she was pretty banged up too when she arrived according to Remus" Ginny said.

"I dunno, and frankly, it doesn't matter, she saved my life" he replied, getting a little suspicious of this line of questioning.

"What were you doing in a dark tunnel with Tonks to begin with anyway?" Ginny probed a bit further.

"I…don't remember" Harry honestly couldn't, his memories just before the actual explosion were a bit hazy.

"If you say so" Ginny said, leaving the room, not before putting Ron in checkmate.

"What the hell just happened?" Harry asked, confusion more or less scribbled on his forehead.

"She's been moody lately, could be, ah, you know" Ron whispered.

"Thank you for that delightfully terrifying psychological image Ron. Never speak of it again" Harry said, gripping the table.

"Yes, Ronald, very droll, if your sister is unhappy then it must be her period because she's just incapable of being anything but happy any other time" Hermione growled at him.

"Sarcasm really isn't your thing is it Hermione?" Ron said, cheeky grin on his face.

Before violence could ensue, Dobby reappeared with the food, his usual over anticipating of needs had somewhat been reined in and there was enough for Harry to eat a good meal. His two closest friends decided that their battle would wait for a while and just spoke of unimportant things with Harry as he ate.

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Back at Privet Drive, Burnout was having a conversation that he really didn't want to be having. Drift it seemed had been curious about his two charges and had gone around as best he could, to get information. It seemed that they weren't the only ones lying low in the world.

"Wizards, you say, folk with magical powers?" Burnout asked slowly.

"Yep, turns out they've been living unknowingly side-by-side with humans for some time now" he replied, his engine purring in vehicle mode.

"And you know all of this how?" Rally piped up beside Drift.

"Well, late last night, I went back to that place, I turned all my lights off and went into stealth mode. I listened in for a couple of hours and just pieced it together" he explained.

"Oh I don't believe this, and my last scan of indicates you're short a portable comm unit, am I correct in assuming that you gave it to the woman?" Burnout rubbed the ridge on his head where a human's eyebrows would be.

"For the boy, yeah, he seems lonely and I'll be honest Burnout, we could all use someone else to talk to" Drift said, feeling indignant.

"Are you taking the piss?" Burnout asked, almost horrified.

"No, anyway it's done now" Drift replied, honking his horn.

'This will turn out very poorly' Burnout muttered without speaking.

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It was late at night; Number 12 was more or less deserted aside from Hermione, Harry and Tonks. Ron and Ginny had gone back to the Burrow and most of the other members of the Order were on duties or in the case of Kingsley Shaklebolt, work. Hermione was still in the library so Harry used the opportunity to test out the device Tonks gave him.

"Drift, its Harry, can you hear me?" he asked, holding down the button that Tonks indicated.

"Loud and clear" came the jovial reply.

"Hi, I never got to thank you, for helping me and Tonks. So, thank you" Harry said, feeling a little awkward.

"Ah, so that's your bond-mate's name. I forgot to ask it on the way there" Drift replied, Harry could hear a woman giggling in the background.

"Who's the girl?" he asked.

"That's Rally, my um, baby sister I think is the easiest way to explain it" Drift pondered a moment.

"Hang on, you called Tonks my bond-mate, what the hell is that?" Harry suddenly remembered the words.

"Well, um let me check my database for a comparison….wife, or perhaps just girlfriend" Drift finally got back to that.

"What on Earth gave you that impression?" Harry asked, once he made sure Tonks wasn't in earshot.

"Well since you mentioned each other's designations while you were offline, I just thought…" Drift trailed off, realising his mistake.

"Well, as very awesome as that would be, I'm pretty sure my friends would have words to say on the subject" he replied with a chuckle.

"Harry, me and Rally have watched you over the past month. If you don't mind me saying so, you seem kind of lonely and, look as if you're bracing a moon's worth of hurt on your shoulder struts" Drift finally came to his very important enquiry.

"It's a long story, Drift. It also may put my life in danger. I'm risking a lot speaking now. How deep can I trust you?" Harry asked.

"Well, realistically, you can't. But look at it this way: I know where you are; I've been sitting outside if for two days in a row. If I or Rally and Burnout wanted to hurt you or the others, we could have and would have done so already" Drift didn't want to make it sound dismissive.

'He's got a good point' Harry wondered.

Acting without thinking had caused the young man a great deal of trouble over the past few years. Twice it had involved Sirius and to say nothing of risking his friends lives at the Department of Mysteries. He was unwilling to risk them again.

"Alright Drift, you've got my trust. But for the moment, I want you to tell me about you" Harry requested.

"Fair enough" he said.

Tonks was outside of Harry's room when she heard Harry ask the question. Knocking on the door and entering, she gave Harry an attractive grin. Harry blushed as she pulled up a seat, propping her feet on the bed, Drifts faux pas coming back to him.

"May I hear this as well or is this gonna be guy's talk?" she asked.

"Hello, Tonks, certainly you may listen" Drift answered.

The telling of the story took an hour and a half and in some places made Harry and Tonks feel very sad. Aside from the main history of the Transformer home planet of Cybertron still being gripped by brutal civil war, Drift and Rally's own stories of heartache (or as Drift had called it 'sparkache') and pain as Special Forces in the Autobot military made Harry realise that perhaps, these two he could speak with. They knew the burdens of fighting and responsibility. Loss of family it turned out was a common thread for Harry and Drift: both lost their parents to evil.

Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. To Harry, it sounded as if it was Voldemort in a robot body. But after hearing the sheer magnitude of Megatron's hatred, to say nothing of his willingness to be at the forefront of any plan of his own and inject into it what Rally had called a very terrifying brand of brutality. Harry was reasonably certain that Megatron would be worse. Voldemort just wanted a Pure Blood Wizarding world; he cared little for conquest or empire building. Megatron, Drift explained, desired power and destruction over which he would rule supreme.

"This Optimus Prime, sounds like someone I know, only less of a control freak" Harry said, thinking of Dumbledore.

"He is the greatest of us, Optimus Prime has been fighting Megatron for millions of years" Drift said.

"Millions of years?" Tonks perked up.

"Yes, I must not have mentioned it but our civil war has raged for about 10 million Earth years" Drift elaborated.

"How old are you, personally?" Harry asked.

"Not very old, 50, 000 years old, Rally's about an hour younger" he said.

"The way he treats me you'd think I was nearly ten thousand years younger" the female Transformer huffed.

Harry and Tonks chuckled: if they hadn't already seen them, they may have mistaken them for humans. It occurred to Harry how much more human they were however compared to people like the Dursleys, even Burnout with his sourpuss demeanour was friendlier to him that most people on Privet Drive.

"Thanks Drift, I think I might have to sit and really digest what you told me, but thank you for being honest with me. I'll tell you my story tomorrow, deal?" Harry said.

"Deal sparkling, Rally and I are usually awake most hours anyway. Night Harry, night Tonks" the communicator went dead.

"Well, that was…" Harry wasn't sure how to take what he'd just been told.

"You've a way with words, Harry" Tonks giggled, and then she winced.

"You okay?" Harry asked, cocking his head to one side.

"My feet, they get really sore sometimes" she said.

"Get your shoes off" Harry instructed.

"Why?" Tonks asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll massage your feet. I taught myself how to do it when learning to play Quidditch" Harry explained.

Seeing no reason to refuse the offer, Tonks took off her knee high boots and placed her bare feet on Harry's lap. Tonks had small feet, and he noted on the first contact with the arch of her foot, very soft skin. Using his thumbs, Harry gently applied pressure to the bottom of Tonks' foot, rubbing in small circles.

"Oooooh, that is marvellous" Tonks made a moaning noise as she leaned back in the seat.

"Well, since in effect you saved my life, bringing me here, taking a risk to reveal the location of the place, I think some thanks are in order" Harry smiled, now using his knuckles to knead the flesh of her heel.

Tonks was practically melting, for someone who self taught himself how to do this, he was damn good. As Harry began carefully bending her toes back and forth, Tonks decided to have some fun with Harry.

"So, is this how you seduce all your women, Mr. Potter?" she asked, smiling saucily.

"What?" Harry went a very brilliant red.

"Come on Harry, level with me. You use this hidden talent to score a few girls?" Tonks' relaxed smile turned salacious and her eyes took a very familiar twinkle.

"Tonks, I've never had a girlfriend, ever" Harry admitted, looking sheepish as he changed feet.

"Are you pulling my leg?" she asked, suddenly alert.

"No, I'm massaging your foot" Harry joked.

"Funny, so you and that other Quidditch played we saw you with in Hogsmeade didn't…" she left the sentence hanging.

"No, no we did not. Cho, her name was, had only what I can describe as, issues" Harry said, remembering Cedric Diggory.

"Shame, she's missing out" Tonks giggled as Harry hit a ticklish spot.

"You think so?" he asked, it was rare he got compliments from women that didn't know him well already.

"I know so, that's the best damn foot massage I've ever had" she said, gingerly removing her feet from his expert care.

"Well, anyway, I'm also going to go and digest what I heard" Tonks got up, grabbing her boots.

"Am I going back to the Dursley's soon?" Harry asked.

"Not for a couple of days yet, Poppy wants to make sure you're healed enough to, survive with them" Tonks said, saying the word 'them' with serious distaste.

"Won't be so bad now, I got friends" Harry said with a small smile, holding up the communicator.

"Yeah…Listen, um, Harry?" Tonks suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Yeah?" he quirked an eyebrow as he spoke.

"You said you'd tell, more or less, your story tomorrow night. Would it bother you if, oh this is embarrassing, if I listened too?" she managed to get out.

Usually Harry's life story had to be pried from him with the Jaws of Life and a few pulled teeth because he guarded the privacy of that information jealously and occasionally, violently. However a guard only protects against unwanted intrusion: Tonks had asked for passage beyond his guards.

"Okay, I'll give you a yell when I get Drift on the communicator again" he said.

"Thanks, that, means a lot to me" Tonks said as she closed the door.

'I'll be damned. I think I just flirted with an older woman' he thought, lying down with the tactile memory of Tonks's skin on his hands.

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Rally enjoyed English streets, narrow and tight around the corners. The concept of corner control wasn't unique to Earth driving, but the complication of tires and other laws of (human) physics presented what Rally saw not so much as a problem but a challenge to be met and conquered.

'And, shift down' she thought, switching from fourth to second, sending her RPM counter sky high and allowing her to skid around the corner with ease.

"Hehehe, easy" she snickered to herself.

She soon came into London's club district. Turning her sound system up, selecting some music she liked that would fit the part in this area of town, Rally decided to mingle. There were other cars around her, she remembered looking them all over from an alley between two large buildings when she'd landed. Coming to some lights, Rally found herself between a family man in a Honda Accord and some teenagers in, once she'd done a chassis scan, a Hyundi Excel. They revved their engine, presumably at her.

'They have to be kidding' she thought with incredulity.

Deciding to play them at their own game, she laughed, which caused her engine to rev, encouraging the young men. Rally then created a hologram, throwing together various parts of models and movie stars to create her 'driver'. A young woman, and, as a lasting touch to the first female voice she'd heard in many years, pink hair. Then she wound down her driver side window.

"That hot rod of yours any good" she asked the teenagers.

"It's got the goods darlin', wanna find out?" the driver asked, yelling past the head of his friend.

"I don't think you've got the minerals to race me kid" she replied, winding him up.

"You talking, so lets see you walking" he shot back.

Rally smiled as viciously as she could. The lights hit green and she took her alt limiter off. An alt limiter is a safety precaution: in younger Transformers, they stop them from accessing the full power of their own engines and generators in vehicle mode until the learn how to control it. In Rally's case, it also limited her to the actual capabilities of her chosen alt mode. She had however, learned how to deactivate it.

'Lets see you do this, prat' she thought.

A slight nudge was all that was needed for her to accelerate from 0 – 60 mph, achieving so in around two seconds, before the other driver had even pressed on his own accelerator. Rally made sure she was well in front, then slowed down the legal limit and turning her limiter back on.

'Wankers' she chortled to herself, setting a course for Little Whinging; she didn't want to miss Harry speak of his life.

"He and Optimus Prime would probably have much to talk about" she said softly as she pulled into the drive of the house they occupied.

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Tonks' head was pounding like crazy: Snape's low and dull tone was getting to her. That man did nothing but complain. And as of this moment, she would gladly take a stint in Azkaban for using her magic on him without cause, if only he would shut up.

'Must, not, kill spy' she thought, counting to ten and clenching and unclenching her fist.

"Thank you for, those views Severus. Now, on the subject of Harry, Madam Pomfrey believes he'll be well enough to return to Privet Drive tomorrow. Do I have a volunteer to escort him back?" Dumbledore asked.

It took Tonks about two seconds to shoot her hand up. Others that volunteered included Mad Eye, Arthur Weasley and Lupin. Dumbledore looked around, weighing up the pros and cons of whom to choose.

"Tonks, can you bring Harry back to Privet Drive?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, we'll avoid the underpasses this time" Tonks replied with a wry smile.

"Very well, I'll leave details of transport up to you. All I ask is that you use discretion and tact" Dumbledore seemed satisfied that Tonks would do it.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Dumbledore, after all, she trips on her own feet?" Snape decided to put the boot in.

Tonks shot him a glare and grit her teeth, keeping a tight grip on her wand. Snape looked merely bored with the look. The other Order members; especially Moody watched the exchange with interest. Tonks was then hit by a stroke of inspiration.

"I'll get him there, and I'll bet you a week of night shifts that you wouldn't track me doing it" Tonks smirked at the man.

"I'll take that, enjoy exhausting yourself, Nymphadora" Snape smugly smirked.

"We'll see about that" she replied, a tone that was all honey and razor blades.

Tonks calmly got off the chair she was on, and in an uncharacteristic show of grace, managed to walk all the way out of the room and up the stairs before she fell over anything, swearing loudly as she did.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Tonks entered the room, Harry got out the communicator. Tonks got to work on privacy spells, the kind the Auror's used to secure interview and interrogation rooms. Once she was satisfied that all was well, Harry contacted Drift.

"Drift, it's Harry. You and Rally there?" he asked.

"Loud and clear, Harry, yes we're both here" Rally answered this time.

"Hi Rally" Tonks said.

"You sure you're up to this?" Drift asked Harry, his voice sounded understanding and without expectation.

"I don't know, but, I'll try" Harry cleared his throat.

"It all began about fifteen years ago…" Harry began to tell them his tale.

Burnout listened in to the amazing story being told to his younger cohorts: some of it seemed so, impossibly outrageous that he had to remind himself that he was from a world so far removed from this one, it was unsurprising the differences would occur. Still, this Voldemort character, seemed like someone he once knew.

'I wonder what you're up to now, bastard' he thought maliciously.

Drift too thought unpleasantly of Voldemort, however he thought even less pleasantly of Harry's relatives, their neighbours. Family were supposed to protect one another, not lock each other under structures or deny them affection. Rally noticed the sound of her brother's turbo charger spooling up. Given that he wasn't moving, Rally took it as a sign of anger.

'Those people are scum' Drift thought.

"Well, that more or less wraps it up, the rest, you know" Harry finished.

Tonks tried to not cry, but she failed miserably. She managed to not make any noise, but she reached out and gripped Harry's hand. Tonks couldn't help but notice how rough and earthy his hands were.

'From gardening no doubt' Tonks thought.

Harry fell back onto his bed, feeling psychologically exhausted from telling his stories to an audience. He'd appreciated the quiet dignity in which his audience listened to him. After saying goodbye to his new friends, Harry turned to Tonks and blinked in surprise.

"Tonks, are you crying?" he asked knowing he sounded stupid.

"Yeah, sorry. I know that pity might piss you off, but I can't help it" she said, sniffing.

With a tenderness she didn't know he possessed, Tonks felt Harry lean forward and cup her cheek and gently wipe away a tear. Harry noticed her hair had turned a grey colour and she looked up at him, Harry could also see her eyes had dulled to a practically black pupil.

"It isn't pity rolling down your cheeks" he said with a melancholy smile.

At this, Tonks giggled and smiled. Her hair also returned to its normal pink colour, although it was less bright than before and her eyes instead become a dark brown rather than their normal violent colour. Then as Tonks remembered her idea, the hair and eyes went back to normal.

"Harry, want to help me get one up on Snape?" she asked.

"How?" Harry was instantly interested.

"I bet him I could get you back to the Dursley's without being detected" Tonks explained.

"How, the Order tracks all of my magical movements?" Harry asked.

Tonks only smiled and pointed to the communicator in Harry's hand, realisation dawning on him.

"Think they'll help us out here, it's hardly life or death?" Harry sounded a little sceptical.

"I think Rally or Drift would, they love a good joke from my memory" Tonks said, recalling the Autobot's good humour on their first trip inside him.

"Okay, but you ask him. This is your crazy plan" Harry smiled and handed over the communicator.

"Wotcher Drift, it's Tonks here. Listen, how do you feel about giving me and Harry a hand to pull the wool over the eyes of one of our amigos?" she asked.

"It sounds dangerous, and irresponsible…I'm in" he said, Tonks could almost feel the grin on the black robot's face.

"Okay, here's the plan" Tonks proceeded to outline her idea.

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The next morning, Tonks helped Harry pack. Once all his basics were covered, including some headache and sleeping potions from Madam Pomfrey, Harry very carefully removed his gift from the Autobots and slid it into his pocket.

"Okay, I am going to enjoy this immensely" Tonks muttered as she picked up a piece of paper.

"Portus" she muttered, tapping the paper.

The paper glowed blue for a second and then faded. Grinning at Harry, Tonks went to the door and hollered there they were leaving. Tonks then shrunk is Trunk so that it would fit in his pocket to allow easy transport with the Portkey.

"Let's do this" Harry said as he and Tonks grabbed the Portkey, that familiar tugging at the stomach.

Downstairs, Severus Snape was hissing angrily. How dare that young upstart proceed to tell him that she'd evade his tracking spells. He felt a small jolt of satisfaction as his first spell detector went off, detecting the Portkey. His spell also pointed their location as in central London.

'You've got nothing' he thought viscously.

Snape waited ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Soon it turned into half an hour. When it was almost an hour, he stood up and went over to the fireplace. Throwing in some Floo powder, he summoned up Arabella Figg.

"Are Potter and his guard there yet?" he asked.

"Yes, Tonks just left via Apparation, I think she went back to Headquarters" Mrs Figg said.

"Wotcher, Snape, enjoy those night shifts" Tonks snuck up behind him and spoke.

"How the bloody hell…" Snape was seething with rage.

"Now I'd disappoint my mentor if I gave up those secrets. Constant vigilance and all that" she sniggered and walked upstairs to have a nap before heading to work.

"How, HOW?" Snape raged in an unusual show anger.

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Harry wished he could see the look on Snape's face when he realised he'd been bested. The ride Drift gave them was a lot of fun, taking some less used roads he'd been able to drive a little more excitedly than when he'd taken them to Grimmuld Place the first time.

"So, how much long until you need to head to school?" Drift asked.

"About two weeks. If I could swing it, I'd rather get driven by you two" Harry answered, grinning widely as Drift took a 45 degree angle turn at 40mph.

"I thought you might like to be on the train with your friends" Drift was clearly confused.

"Well, Ron and Hermione would be great but Ginny's acting kind of funny and as much as I love my friends, some of them are a bit hard to handle sometimes" Harry admitted.

"I understand that, Rally and I argue sometimes too. I remember this one time on Cybertron, she was going out with this Autobot Medic. He had a certain reputation of you follow?" Drift began a story.

"I think I do" Harry said, smiling as Tonks giggled.

"Yeah one evening, they were getting friendly so I decided to make my presence known. I was soundly smacked in the head and removed from the room" he said with a chuckle.

"Rally, kicked you out?" Tonks asked.

"Don't be fooled, that girl can be a real concussion round when the mood takes her" Drift said.

"Cool, Robot Girl Power" Tonks said with a grin.

"Drift, this is Burnout, before you drop our friends home, bring them here, I have something for them" a voice cracked over Drift's radio unit.

"Okay, approaching Little Whinging now" Drift replied.

Pulling into a familiar driveway, Harry noticed that Rally wasn't there. Drift said Rally often liked to go out and mingle in Central London, made her feel less of an outcast. Once Tonk and Harry got out, Drift transformed and lay down to relax. It was only the second time he'd done it and it still amazed them to see.

"Burnout will be in the kitchen I think, usually uses it to brew special fuels or power cells for our weapons:" Drift said.

Harry led Tonks to the kitchen, having seen it before he roughly remembered the way to it. Once they arrived they saw it wasn't a kitchen anymore. Looked more like a laboratory, Burnout was indeed the brains of this little outfit it seemed.

"Ah, there you are. Come over here please, both of you" the smaller Transformer was speaking in much more subdued tones than Harry or Tonks recalled.

"Harry, I've done some research, as best I can not having access to the information sources that you do and of course I heard your, life story the other night" he said.

"Figured you might" Harry replied.

"To that end, I have fashioned something for the pair of you. Here" Burnout handed them both an identical item.

Tonks didn't recognise it but Harry did: it was a pistol. He didn't know what kind of pistol it was but since it was from Burnout, he assumed it was Transformer technology. After gently telling Tonks to be careful of it, he looked questioningly at the Autobot.

"I gathered that sometimes magical self defence might be difficult, sometimes ineffective. I think you'll find those weapons very indiscriminate in their damage" he began, moving around the kitchen bench, the tables and chairs jumping as he moved.

"They are a standard Autobot military sidearm, scaled down of course. They fire in two modes, one for stunning, and one for killing. The stun setting will create a sort of concussion blast, knocking your target to the ground. The kill setting will fire a beam of dense, focused electricity, usually penetrates to the centre of a Transformer. In the case of a human like you, probably vaporise a good chunk of what ever you hit." He explained at length.

"Do muggles make these kinds of weapons Harry?" Tonks asked, looking at the pistol fearfully.

"Not of this power, no, Muggle pistols fire a piece of metal, called a bullet. Directed energy weapons are somewhat of a dream at the moment" he said, caressing the metal of the weapon.

"Here, I threw these together as well. Wrist holsters. Harry, your arm please?" Burnout held his hand out.

Harry gulped but peeled back his jumper sleeve and produced his arm. The holster looked remarkably like a wand holster. In reality it was a simple contraption: two thin rings that went over his hand and tightened comfortably around his wrist and just below his elbow. Two small rails rand down the length of the two rings, a small plate with a locking clamp sat in the centre. Burnout ran the plate to the end of the rails.

"Bend your hand back" he muttered.

Harry did so, allowing Burnout to slip and clamp the weapon to the device. Burnout then ran the clamp back, the muzzle of the gun stopping short of Harry's wrist. Good robes would hide it.

"Now, for the froth in the beer" Burnout said and produced a small syringe.

"What the hell are you gonna do with that" Tonks asked, reaching for her wand.

"I'm going to inject Harry with a nanobot. A microscopic machine. It will make its way up to his brainstem and attach itself. It will then be able to pick up when Harry wants his gun and the holster will bring it to his hand" Burnout explained.

"What's the liquid?" she pressed.

"Saline solution…Salt water" he elaborated at seeing her confused look.

"How do you know that it will work?" Harry asked.

"Because it is the very same technology that allows me and Drift and Rally to transform or draw our own weapons" Burnout explained.

"Will it have any other effects?" Tonks asked, squeezing Harry's hand so the injection wasn't so noticeable.

"None, it's really just a transmitter, sending the thought of needing the weapon to the mechanism in the holster. You want one, you seem uneasy with the weapon?" he asked, seeing Tonks' apprehensive look.

"I dunno" she said, looking at Harry.

"Give it a whirl Harry, prove I'm good at this" Burnout asked, feeling smug.

'Gun' Harry thought.

Quick as a flash, the pistol shot forward, into his waiting hand. Harry quickly closed his hand around it, placing his finger behind the actual trigger as Burnout pointed out. The metal was unusually warm, although he suspected that had to do with the tiny generator in it. It weighed next to nothing, and best of all, it wasn't as fussy as a wand. He unclenched his grip.

'Gun away' he thought; quick as it appeared, the weapon slid back up his arm.

"I reckon it would be handy in a scrape, Tonks. I'm not thrilled with the idea but I'm less thrilled about being caught without my wand" Harry said, being pragmatic.

"Fine, then I'm in too. If this craziness is going to go on, may as well have company" she muttered, relenting and allowing Burnout to repeat the procedure with her.

"Now I really shouldn't need to say this but I will: don't fuck around with these things. They're dangerous, they're weapons of war and have no other purpose than to cause damage or kill" Burnout stressed the point.

"I know that, we have wands that do the same you know" Tonks said feelings insulted at being treated like a child.

"No, your wand is a multi tool, that gun is for killing shit. Learn. The. Difference" Burnout stared Tonks down.

"Okay, Burnout, I'll explain it" Harry said, taking Tonks away from the irritable Transformer before a fight broke out.

"He spoke to me like an idiot" Tonks fumed.

"Well no offence Tonks, but in this case, he was right. Guns kill, that is all they ever do, it is all they ever have done and likely will do. A standard pistol of this size from the Muggle world can be fired 16 times, that is 16 potential deaths in hand, and then it can be reloaded and go again" Harry made sure Tonks really understood the destructive force of the item in her hands.

"Really, my dad never mentioned anything about them" she said, peeling back her robe sleeve to look at it again.

"Maybe he didn't believe that being a Witch; you'd have much contact with them in your life. Trust me though: they are dangerous" Harry said.

"Okay, I'll be careful, Harry" Tonks said.

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Two weeks passed with unusual quickness: Harry was happier than ever before, having friends to talk to (robots or not) made a huge difference to his will to stay at Privet Drive. Tonks also, with Dumbledore's approval, was allowed to take Harry out and into London. Their trips were to last no more than four hours, which was irritating but acceptable given that people were out to kill him.

One of Harry and Tonks' first purchases was a long sleeve coat, to hide their gifts from Burnout. A quick cooling charm to stop them from dying of dehydration while wearing them and they were set. Also, Harry and Tonks both noted that they weren't ever unprotected either: Drift or Rally tended to use their outings as an excuse to stretch their wheels and keep a close eye on them

"You never know when another bridge might fall on you" Rally joked; Tonks and Harry though her humour, somewhat droll.

Usually Harry and Tonks' trips were just window shopping or stopping by an arcade or two. Others though they'd go down to the riverfront and practice firing the pistols at cans. This afforded them a certain amount of privacy in which Harry would talk of anything and everything.

"I have really bad nightmares some nights, usually about Sirius, or Cedric" Harry said, lining up a can on the wall.

"I know, you have a hell of a pair of lungs on you, Harry. I could hear you some nights" Tonks replied, firing her pistol, hitting the bottle dead centre.

"Cheater" Harry grumbled, seeing Tonks's eyes change back to normal.

"You've got a good eye, being a Seeker and all" Tonks remarked, making the pistol slide up her arm.

"Yeah, but I can't change my eyes into Hawk's eyes for better vision" he retorted.

"Are you excited about going to Hogwarts again?" Tonks asked, ignoring Harry's jab.

"Yeah, actually I am. The other day, Dumbledore took me to meet Horace Slughorn. Some old Potions Master from long ago at Hogwarts" Harry looked happy about that, no more Snape.

"Dumbledore wouldn't sack Snape. Perhaps ol' Hooknose is gonna get his dream after all" Tonks said, mainly to herself.

"What dream?" Harry asked, his heading apparently very good too.

"Snape has always wanted to be Defence against the Dark Arts professor Harry, he's been wanting it for as long as I've known him" Tonks explained.

"Oh no, don't tell me" the young man groaned.

"Pretty much, yeah" Tonks replied with some mirth.

"Well, our four hours are almost up, want to Apperate or ask Rally for a lift?" Harry looked at the cheap digital watch on his wrist.

"I'm tired, I think I'd end up at home rather than Privet Drive" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay. Rally, its Harry, listen if you're done embarrassing teenagers in Central London, could you hone in on us and give us a lift home please?" Harry spoke into the communicator.

"Okay, I think I've started to draw attention anyway" she replied.

The Thames was by no means a beautiful river to look at, at least not now. It may have been hundreds of years ago but now it was brown, and in some places stank considerably. Yet for some reason, this was as good as life got for Harry when he was with the Dursley's.

"Tonks, when I get back to school, I'm going to tell Dumbledore about the Transformers. After the grilling I gave him, and destroying his office last year about keeping secrets, I can't well do this to him" Harry chuckled.

"Best discuss this with Rally and Drift first. Burnout is too grumpy" Tonks said.

"Will you be there, with me when I tell him?" Harry asked, looking Tonks dead in the eyes.

This was a big reach. Harry never asked anyone other than Hermione or Ron to ever help him go to Dumbledore about an issue such as this. Although there were simple reasons to assume he wanted her support. She was after all the only other person who knew about the Transformers, and had agreed with him to keep their existence secret. Then again, in their outings, Tonks had become rather fond of Harry and saw no reason to refuse the request.

"Yeah, if you want me to be" she answered, looking straight back at Harry.

Rally's engine whirred as she closed into the waterfront area where her two friends stood. A gentle beep of the horn was enough to bring them towards her. Harry got in the front passenger seat and put on his belt. Tonks took up position in the driver seat. Closing their doors, they reclined as Rally pulled out, peeling away from the Thames in a smoky cloud.

"Rally, Harry has something he'd like to ask you" Tonks said before Harry could forget.

"Oh, what's on your mind kiddo?" she asked, practically driving sideways around a corner.

"If you want to, I'd like to introduce you and the others to my headmaster. I've been feeling a hypocrite for keeping this from him, and he could direct us to Hogwarts if that is something you're still keen on" Harry explained.

"I dunno, this secret of ours is vastly spreading" Rally said with a very level voice.

"Like I said, I won't tell him if you don't want me too, I'm just feeling bad about it is all" Harry said, holding his hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

"I'll talk to Drift, if he's still keen for it, then we'll all go" Rally decided.

"What about Burnout, won't he complain?" Tonks said, reclining in Rally's seat.

"Even if he does, who cares? He's just old and grouchy and he'll come anyway, if only under the pretences of keeping me and Drift, mainly me though, out of trouble" Rally replied, activating the automatic garage door opener.

"Sounds fair and reasonable" Harry said, looking over at the now sleeping Tonks.

Tonks was basically splayed out on the chair, as best as she could be anyway. Her pink hair was all mussed up, covering her face. Her jaw hung open, drool making its way down her face. Harry stifled his giggles and quietly opened the door.

"She right to kip there?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'll be offline anyway" Rally whispered back, switching her engine off.

Harry smiled and walked back next door, Rally and Drift knew Tonks' schedule well enough to wake her for the changing of the guard so as not to arouse suspicion from her fellow Order members. As Harry walked into the house of Number 4 Privet Drive, he considered that it wasn't so bad here now that he knew friends were merely a phone call away.

The Dursley's didn't even look up as Harry walked in, allowing him to go to his room unnoticed. Small mercies like this had been the norm after Sirius's death, much to Harry's delight. His room seemed, less oppressive now, though he couldn't figure out why. Not caring in the least, Harry lay down on his bed.

'So, school in three days' Harry thought, twirling around his wand. The pistol was still on his arm.

Checking for anyone else, Harry went over to his trunk and opened the lid, moving back his cloak. After double checking (constant vigilance!) there was no one, he removed the pistol and its mechanism and placed it in the trunk. After covering the weapon up so no one could see it if they opened the trunk, Harry plonked down on his bed.

"Storm's brewing" he noted, seeing clouds gather overhead.


	4. Chapter 4

Yet again, Tonks and Harry were running, this time though they avoided underpasses and tunnels all together. It was in the early evening and the sun was streaking orange and pink across the grass. At the end of their run they sat on a children's merry go round, silence wafting softly between them.

"You ready for tomorrow?" she asked, the question seeming to hang over her head.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I guess" Harry shrugged; it wasn't every day once introduced a wizard to sentient machines from another world.

"Well, if it isn't freak boy" a familiar voice rang out.

'Oh god, anyone but him' Harry placed his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes.

"Sod off, fat boy" Tonks hissed, fingering her wand warningly.

"You wouldn't dare. He'll get kicked out, and you'll probably get arrested" Dudley was obviously feeling brave.

Tonks took stock of the situation: there were seven of them; all in varying states of mental and physical health. Dudley was at the front of the group, while some of the others took positions around them. So preoccupied with them, Tonks didn't see one of the others, twitching and looking around.

"I wouldn't dare? I'm a grown up, sport, I can do as I see fit" Tonks stood up; walking up towards the group of young men.

'This woman has no fear, I think Voldemort should be more scared of her than me' Harry watched as Dudley and his friends back up: however, it was a short-lived victory.

The next part happened almost in slow motion. Tonks turned back around; grinning smugly and there was a click and a scream. Suddenly without warning, the twitchy member of Dudley's gang shot forward and ran into Tonks. At first it seemed as if he'd just barged her, but the grip on her wand lessened. Harry seemed frozen as the young man hit Tonks several times.

"TONKS!" it suddenly occurred to Harry what was going on.

A well-aimed left hook took the young man out, a bloody butterfly knife in his hands. Harry was nearly sick when he saw her. There were five visible wounds on her abdomen, all of them bleeding profusely. Most of Dudley's gang had scarpered when they saw the bloody knife, Dudley included.

"Oh shit, Tonks what do I do?" Harry asked, looking around desperately for assistance.

"Hahaha, its all red" the young man who Harry stuck giggled.

"If she dies, so do you. SOMEONE, HELP ME!" Harry yelled.

A sudden roar of engines heralded the arrival of some help. An even higher pitched engine got really close to them, and with a clank and a groan Burnout stood beside them. He was growling and using his right hand to create bandages.

"Keep pressure on the wounds while I bind them. Then help me get her into Rally, she needs medical help" he muttered, gently lifting Tonks up.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH" Tonks screamed as the movement made her wounds stretch.

"Shite, he's not kidding arsehole, she dies and so do you" Burnout muttered.

"Burnout, she's losing a lot of blood. What do we do?" Harry asked, pressing down on the wound Burnout was bandaging up.

"She needs proper medical attention, but something tells me we also require discretion" the Transformer muttered.

"Okay, she's stable. Moving her is going to be necessary risk, we must get her to a human doctor" Burnout checked some readouts on his HUD.

Harry looked around and saw that someone had discarded a camping bed in the park. Not caring why or how, he ran over and grabbed it from under the carousel. The material was mouldy and dirty but still looked solid.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"What?" Burnout looked up.

"We could use this, but the mould and dirt could infect her" Harry pointed out the bed.

"Bring it here" Burnout motioned for Harry.

Obeying without question, Harry dragged the camp bed over to Burnout. His left hand retracted and reformed to resemble something that Harry thought looked like a shower head. When it was activated, a thin beam of energy was shot out, humming. Burnout ran the beam across the whole of the bed.

"There: it's clean and sterile. Help me put her on it" the darkness that had allowed the drug crazed young man to get inside Tonks' defences now covered the two working furiously to help her.

"Rally, park near the kerb, it's about ten feet from where we are, Harry and I are brining Tonks up" he said over his radio.

"One, two, three and lift" Harry and Burnout easily hefted the sedated Tonks and crept across the dark park to the kerb where Rally was.

Rally opened her back door, rearranging the backseat to accommodate the makeshift stretcher. Once it was in, Rally carefully strapped it down and drove off to their base. Harry then ran back and picked up the still fitting young man that had stabbed Tonks. After angrily kneeing him in the groin to subdue him, Harry frogmarched him to Drift.

"Get in dickhead" Harry spat.

"Make me" the boy replied.

"My scans indicate he's taken a large amount of methamphetamines, he'll be lit up like this for a couple of hours yet" Burnout, now in motorcycle mode, muttered as he rolled up beside Harry before zooming off.

Harry violently threw the deranged drug user into Drift's front passenger seat, the growling Lancer generating several seat belts to ensure his passenger was restrained. Harry stared at his hands: they were covered in Tonks's blood, spilled because she'd stood up to keep him safe.

"Drift, take me to Mrs. Figg's house. Tonks needs some help from another wizard" Harry said, sitting in the driver seat.

"Okay, what about this idiot?" Drift asked, tightening the belts to the boy's dismay.

"Just make sure he won't run away" Harry said darkly.

"He's going no where" Drift affirmed, peeling out of the deserted area and heading for home.

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It took scant few minutes to reach the destination Harry requested, being opposite their houses. Harry got out and knocked on the door, Drift rolling quietly into his garage. Mrs. Figg opened the door, reeling back in surprise at seeing Harry there.

"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore, right now" Harry said, brazenly letting himself into the house and walking over to the fireplace.

Mrs. Figg said nothing, noting the dried blood on his hands. Harry grabbed some Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Commanding Dumbledore to appear, Harry began clenching and unclenching his fists to prevent from screaming or crying.

"Harry, are you okay, you seem most upset?" Dumbledore asked, looking very worried.

"I need you and Madam Pomfrey to come to Mrs. Figg's house, please. I need your help" he said, his breath haggard.

"We'll be there at once" Dumbledore's face left the fireplace.

Harry sat and waited, refusing Mrs. Figg's offer of tea or brandy for his raw nerves. After what seemed hours, Harry saw Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore come from the fire. Without speaking he rose up and beckoned them to follow him across the road. They left, Dumbledore and Pomfrey nodding to Mrs. Figg.

"Harry what is…is that your blood?" Dumbledore asked, seeing the scarlet hands.

"No, this is Tonks' blood" He said, opening the front door to Number 6.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey was getting worried.

"A member of Dudley's gang, he was high on drugs or something, lunged at her in the dark and he stabbed her, five times in the stomach" Harry said, turning down the stairs to the garage.

"Where is she?" Dumbledore was furious; he'd see that the young man responsible hung from the highest yardarm for this.

"In here. Before we go in, both of you need to promise me, that what ever you see will be kept, for the moment, between us" he looked them both in the eye, his feelings laid bare in his pained green orbs.

"You have our word" Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded and opened the door. Tonks lay on steel table, a small mattress underneath her. She was wearing only a bra, her shirts and jacket lay discarded and cut on the ground. A large amount of bandages were wrapped around her stomach area.

"Oh my" Madam Pomfrey assumed her professional mood and began her examinations.

"Harry, did you do this?" Dumbledore asked, pointing to the young woman's bandages form.

"No, that was, Burnout, a friend of mine" Harry said, point towards the wall.

Dumbledore's eyes widened greatly at seeing the humanoid machine, its hands covered with blood and bandages. Burnout turned and saw the headmaster and slowly walked towards him, wiping his hands clean. Now standing in front of Dumbledore, the headmaster looked up into the old mech's green eyes.

"Burnout, senior medical officer, Autobots, at your service" he offered his hand to the Dumbledore.

"Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A pleasure" he said as cordially as he could.

"Harry, go sit with Rally would you, she's around the back. I think she could use a friend" Burnout pointed to an open door.

Nodding and walking outside to join the female Autobot, Harry left the room. Once that happened, Burnout shut the door. Then he got three chairs. One for him, one for Dumbledore and…

"This young, individual, is responsible for the condition of our mutual friend" Burnout sat the teen down, who was already coming down from his high.

"What in the hell?" the stoner said.

"Ah, feeling up to using speech now are we?" Burnout said and sat in front of the drug addled youth.

"Now, listen up smart arse. You have put my friends and me in a tricky position: on the one hand you deserve severe punishment for what you have done and there is no one in this house not itching to give you a flogging" Burnout paused.

"Agreed" Dumbledore looked stern.

"However, that would involve giving up certain information that I don't want to release to the world. So that leaves me with a couple of solutions" he paused for dramatic effect.

"One is to let you go, under the pretences that you will never come near this area again; not too fond of that one. Two is to kill you, but that creates as many problems as it solves, sadly. Three is to erase your memory; now my initial scans of your brain indicate that if I do it my way, it will probably kill you. So I am caught between a Decepticon and a hard place" he leaned back, staring at the youth with very cold eyes.

"I believe I can offer an appropriate recourse here. I can perform what is called an 'Oblivate' spell, I can remove the young man's memories of all of us and have it placed down as a very, very bad dream" Dumbledore said, reaching for his wand.

"Albus Dumbledore you will do no such THING?" Madam Pomfrey, now finished with Tonks turned and saw the owner of the third voice.

"Calm down please, doctor" Burnout muttered.

"What, what, what?" Poppy wasn't able to get much further than that.

"I am a sentient robot from the planet Cybertron, known as a Transformer. My name is Burnout. Any other questions please speak to the growling Lancer over there" Burnout pointed to Drift, who was indeed growling.

"It was you wasn't it? That brought them to Grimmauld Place that time they were injured by that explosion" Madam Pomfrey sat down, a fourth chair having been conjured.

"That was Drift, the other one's name is Rally, who's out the back with Harry" Burnout explained.

"So, what happened?" Madam Pomfrey hadn't been listening to their conversation.

"This, creature, here got higher than a kite in a hurricane on a methamphetamine, not sure what kind though. And something in him snapped, judging by his condition it was probably Amphetamine Psychosis and he just launched himself at Tonks, stabbing her five times with this" he handed Poppy the butterfly knife.

"This is a nasty looking weapon" she remarked, handling it with great care as she observed the blood stained blade.

"Yes, fortunately the park was close and it was getting dark so I was able to pick up on the distressed shouting and we arrived in time to stop her from bleeding to death" Burnout spared a withering, contemptuous glare at their guest.

"And thanks to our combined medical efforts, Tonks will recover fully. However, she will be unable to perform more strenuous duties for several weeks" the Irish Transformer finished.

"Will she be fit to travel?" Dumbledore asked.

"By morning, she should be walking. What, with Burnout's stitching and, Merlin knows what else and my magic her body is well on the mend" Madam Pomfrey beamed.

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Harry sat with Rally, both of them saying very little. Rally looked very pensive, clenching her fist tightly, occasionally bringing her weapons to bear. Harry stared straight ahead, also bringing his wand to focus, although on what was unknown.

"This is a first" Harry muttered; staring at his hands, the blood already dry and caked.

"What is?" Rally asked.

"Actually having blood on my hands. It's been there metaphorically, but this is the first time, in all my encounters with evil I've seen blood like this" he muttered, finally having the sense to start cleaning his hands, grabbing a disused bar of soap from the window sill.

"Aside from the sight of blood on your hands, what else is clearly preying on your mind?" Rally shifted her large mass, cloaking emitters preventing others from seeing them.

"It occurs to me: that without your help, your friendship, I and Tonks would be dead; twice over" he said.

"We watched you for a long while, Harry. You seemed lonely, and so were we. It has become a good friendship" she placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I know. Thank you, all of you, for being our friends. You've been, stabilising forces in my life where there was once none" Harry dried his now clean hands on his jeans, squeezing Rally's hand, as best possible.

"Go to her" Rally said with a wry smile.

Harry chuckled again, and walked inside towards his friend. She was still asleep when Harry silently entered the room, getting yet another chair from the large collection that sat in their garage. Tonks' hair had changed from its normal vibrant pink to a sort of silver colour, like her aunt Narcissa's. Her skin had also paled a bit, moving her cheekbones up a bit further.

'She's still very beautiful' he thought, gently grasping her hand in his own.

Dumbledore saw all of Harry's entrance and his choice of location in the room. He also saw something in Harry's eyes. It was a small, spark; he'd seen it several times before in the eyes of men, including James Potter. Though his eyes were aged, Dumbledore was even able to see Harry gently stroking Tonks' hand.

"Come, we will take our guest upstairs" Dumbledore said, taking the drug abusing youth by the arm.

"You…" Harry saw them leading him out.

"We'll take care of this Harry, you and Drift stay with Tonks" Dumbledore used a very firm tone of voice, indicating to Harry that indeed they would.

"Good" Harry retorted.

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Tonks very carefully opened her eyes, only to be stabbed in the eyes with bright white lights. Closing them again like a shot to allow the assaulted irises to get used to the idea of light again. After a few blinks and a concerted effort to control the size of her irises, Tonks opened her eyes again to take stock of her surroundings.

'I'm in Drift and Rally's garage' she thought trying to get up; a searing pain ran through her abdomen as she tried to do so.

"OW, HOLY SHIT" she screamed.

"Whoa, what the hell?" Harry was jolted awake by her sudden scream.

"Oh, never a good sign when that happens" Tonks grit her teeth.

"Hey, you're awake" Harry became highly animated at seeing the Auror move again.

"Indeed I am, and you look like hell" Tonks observed.

"All things considered, how are you feeling?" Harry asked, still maintaining a tight grip on her hand.

"Okay, how did you do it?" she asked, noticing the hand intertwined with her own.

"I didn't have a choice, Rally brought you back here, I called Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. They know, Tonks" Harry explained.

"Oh no, I'm not going to enjoy the undoubted dressing down I'll be receiving when I'm feeling better" she chuckled; staring down at her and Harry's hand.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, still dopey from the anaesthetic Burnout had given her.

"Quite a while, it's around six in the morning now. I think Dumbledore nicked next door to pack all of my things for me. Rally and Drift are waiting out front. We've a long drive to get through" Harry said.

"I can't go, not like this, I can barely bloody move" Tonks grumbled.

"I think Drift has that covered. He's been working since last night to convert his interior so you can travel with us to Hogwarts" Harry moved closer to the bed.

"Is this what you really look like?" Harry asked, pointing to the platinum blonde hair.

"Huh, oh, yes it is. Funny, you're the, sixth person I think that knows what I really look like" for some reason, Harry seeing her as she truly was, didn't bother her.

"Who are the others, if you don't mind my asking?" Harry enquired, reaching out to move a stray strand of hair.

"My mother and father obviously. Dumbledore and Poppy, when I was at school. Alastor when I joined the Aurors and now you" she explained, shivering a little as Harry's finger travelled down her ear.

"Ah, I see our friend is awake. How are you Tonks?" Madam Pomfrey asked, finally deciding to speak, having decided against interrupting them while Tonks got used to adding another person to add to her small list.

"My midsection feels like it's on fire, other than that I'm ok" she said, weakly smiling and squeezing Harry's hand.

"Indeed. Well I think we should get a start Mr. Potter: Professor Dumbledore and I are returning to Hogwarts via a Portkey soon. Drift knows the way to Hogwarts and is prepared to take yourself and Ms. Tonks" as if on cue, the garage door opened.

Drift had not changed at all on the outside, not that Harry could see anyway. Displaying the depth of his control over himself, he turned his wheels side ways, allowing himself to literally slide into the garage. He opened his passenger door and Tonks could now see the difference.

Most of his instrument panel was now gone. Gearbox and gearstick were no longer visible. There were only two large, plush reclining seats in the whole car. Using a gentle levitation spell, Madam Pomfrey gently guided Tonks onto the seat, which had actually turned faced outwards from the door to receive her.

"Wow, Drift, you did all this to cart around little old me?" she asked with a smile.

"Needed something to stop me from using young Mr. Wallace as a target drone" Drift growled, causing his turbo to spool.

"Who?" Tonks was confused.

"The little shite that shanked you last night, believe me lass, he is very lucky not to be dead" Burnout arrived to ensure Tonks' wounds weren't in danger of reopening while on the trip.

"Oh" Tonks wasn't sure how to take that information, filing it away for later.

Harry said nothing and checked Drift's boot, making sure he'd forgotten nothing. Trunk, Firebolt, suitcases of extra clothing. It suddenly struck Harry that since Dumbledore packed the trunk; he may have found the weapon Burnout made him. Opening his trunk in the crisp morning air, Harry checked to see if his pistol was in its hiding place. He felt less stressed when he laid hands on the cool metal of the gun.

"Okay, Drift, lets get the hell out of here" he said, closing both the trunk lid and the boot.

With that, Harry thanked Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey for their help and got in the driver's side of Drift, strapping himself in. In perfect concert, Rally and Drift started their engines. Since in this case, Drift being the larger one with the cargo, Rally went first to make sure any danger ran into her first: and like her brother, she was still itching to fight something. Drift and Burnout soon followed, their convoy making a lot of noise in the early morning.

"Something troubling you, headmaster?" Poppy asked her long time friend.

"Their technology works in Hogwarts, and Burnout has armed Harry and Tonks with a highly powerful weapon. I simply wish that nothing goes wrong. Wizards are used to strange things, but life on other worlds…Most of us are not ready" Dumbledore had elected to trust Harry…

…He owed him that.

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It was still early in London, none of the students had yet arrived at Platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts Express. A wet, grey light filtered across the countryside. As if to deliberately disturb the peace, a glowing mass exploded across the sky and landed with a thundering crash on a field across from the station. Only the wildlife bothered to stir.

When smoke and dust settled, it revealed a large meteor made of metal. Sunlight began to reflecting on its surface. All of a sudden, a green energy wave sprung from the metal surface, running over the Hogwarts Express. A shadow soon loomed over the silent train. A pair of large hands reached down and easily lifted the Hogwarts Express engine from its tracks. With practiced technique a powerful beam shot from the left shoulder of the large being, digging a hole. Without ceremony the Hogwarts engine was dumped in it and covered in dirt.

"Well, there we go: the perfect crime. Now to get comfortable for my long sojourn" a, chipper English voice cut the morning air.

A twist of gears and the sound of metal on metal scraping and clanging rumbled up the station's empty platform and where there was once a large humanoid machine now sitting, on its tracks and looking none the wiser, was the Hogwarts Express.


	5. Chapter 5

The clock struck seven o'clock and students and parents started to arrive, piling their kids onto the carriages. New students were exuding a mixture of excitement and fear at the prospect of going to school at Hogwarts.

There was one group though, despite not being in the top of the class ladders, they walked with purpose and pride. At their head was a young woman with slightly curled brown hair, behind her stood a tall young man with red hair, a younger woman with identical hair to his left. Hermione Granger, flanked by Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley. First year students saw them and became enthralled, other members soon joined them: Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Parvarti and Padma Patil, Lavender Brown and. They were the DA.

Although not all went to the Department of Mysteries, most of them were held as folk heroes of Hogwarts for their defiance against Delores Umbridge. When word eventually filtered down to the general Hogwarts populace that their core members had fought the Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic, their status became that of legends.

Although if you looked close enough, the eyes of Hermione and the Weasley children held a sadness and a grief that only came from near death battles. They walked into a carriage near the engine, splitting into groups and saying very soft farewells.

"Where do you suppose Harry is?" Ginny finally asked the question that burned on all their brains.

"No idea, Remus wouldn't say anything" Hermione replied, leaning into the seat wearily.

"Neither would our mother. All she said was that Harry was safe, where ever he was. As far as I can tell, Tonks is with him so he should be fine" Ron added more information.

"Ron, I love Tonks to death ok, but that woman can trip over a blade of grass. I hope someone else is there too" Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.

"Ginny, Tonks is an Auror, she's a trained professional and has handled a Dark Wizard or two in her time I'm sure" Ron said, closing his eyes.

"I would have thought Ginny, that you were more worried about Harry being around Tonks because she's such an adventurous and attractive older woman" Luna said, lowering her copy of the Quibbler only enough to reveal her wide, mirth filled eyes.

Ginny's face turned a shade that nearly matched her hair. Hermione wisely pulled out a book to hide her face so she could smirk. Ron however had no such tactic, he laughed long and hard at his sister's embarrassment. Ginny's only response was to jab her elbow, very hard, into his stomach.

"Dirty fighter" Ron said between coughs.

Luna merely smiled at the chaos her comment had caused. She had a particular skill for catching people off guard with either one of her weird and whacky theories (perfectly sound scientific theories to her) or an astute and honest observation. Ginny's crush on Harry was hardly the best kept secret in the world, so Luna was very serious in her comment. Tonks was a few years older than Harry, and deeply attractive with a talent for mischief.

'I wonder if they are doing something' Luna's thoughts wondered to her friends, whom unbeknownst to her were in fact travelling on a road that ran almost parallel to the train tracks she was on.

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Indeed something was going on, Tonks was telling jokes and Harry was laughing something fierce, Drift too. After the one about the Nun and the Monster Truck, Tonks was out of jokes and settled for stories from the others.

"So you and Rally are special forces?" Harry said, repositioning his chair to sit behind Tonks.

"Yeah, Rally's a sniper and I'm an infiltrator" Drift said proudly.

"If I recall correctly Drift, the last thing you infiltrated, unsuccessfully I might add, was the crotch plate of that femme nurse in that hospital" Rally interceded to stop her brother's ego from suffocating his passengers.

"How in the Pit did you find out about that?" he asked, not bothering to deny it.

"Drift, you told the whole unit afterwards, and you know that Breech can't keep his vocaliser shut with stuff like that to save his spark" Rally snorted.

"That two face-plated prat, I'll stick a bloody rifle up his aft next time I see him" Drift growled, accelerating aggressively.

"Oi, keep your arse in low gear, you've an injured passenger you twat" Burnout roared over the radio link.

"Hehehe, oh yes" Drift calmly backed his speed down.

"Oh, I was just having fun then" Tonks huffed.

Harry noticed a somewhat sad note in Tonks' voice. Feeling like it was the right thing to do, he reached out and began rubbing his hand threw her pink tresses. Tonks looked up at Harry, quirking her eyebrows

"Mr Potter, are you flirting with me" she asked outright, smirking immensely.

"I don't know, I'll tell you later. You seemed a bit upset, so it was either this or sing, and I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket" Harry said.

'Ah yes, the famous Potter wit, Remus says it's dry, like a good martini' Tonks thought and softened her smirk to a smile.

"I just feel really embarrassed is all. Me, an Auror, having the jump put on me buy some little toerag who'd been off his head" Tonks really did feel embarrassed.

"I wouldn't worry; he caught everyone flat footed with that, even his own friends" Harry consoled her.

"Most Transformers have a special sensor array for stuff like that" Drift said.

"You what?" Harry asked, surprise all over his face.

"Yeah, I forget the technical name, but we call them 'The Sensors of Impending Doom' since when they go off, things tend to go pear shaped" he explained.

"Are you taking the piss?" Tonks asked.

"You'd think he is, but he's really not" Rally confirmed.

"How far until Hogwarts?" Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to arrive so soon.

"About other three or four hours I think, could cut it down to two if Tonks weren't so ill" Drift said.

"That's okay, I've never seen much of Scotland so this is a nice change" Harry said.

Harry was also glad of the opportunity to spend time with Tonks. She'd been injured terribly, and if he understood Burnout enough, potentially fatally had he not called them to assist. All for him, and somehow he liked to think that she'd made a big show of it because they were friends.

"I'm hungry Tonks, how about you?" he asked.

"Yeah I am, Burnout, can I eat stuff yet?" Tonks decided to check with the doctor over the open link.

"Madam Pomfrey said you should be ok; just nothing too rich" he warned.

"Sangers it is then" Harry chuckled, pulling a couple of sandwiches and a thermos of pumpkin juice from an eski.

Tonks managed to conjure up a table for them. Harry handed her the food, gently brushing her fingers as he did so.

"So Harry, back to my original question. Were you flirting with me?" Tonks was more serious this time.

"I genuinely don't know. I guess, cos you got hurt helping me out, I wanted to do something nice for you. Head rubs are pretty cool" he offered lamely.

"Well saving my life was pretty cool, don't sell that short" she smiled at him, marvelling at his unique attitude towards people.

"Still, I feel bad about it" Harry said, that same feeling of darkness threatened to overcome him again.

"I know. I also know that Drift did this all night to stop from stomping on him, and that Rally went out drag racing to avoid the same impulse" Tonks said, cocking her head to one side.

"So what does that mean?" Harry was lost now.

"You stayed. All night by all accounts, with me, for that I'm very grateful" Tonks reached out and grabbed Harry's hand in her own.

Suddenly, an old RnB song began blaring from Drift's speakers. Harry and Tonks couldn't hear it all but the few suggestive lyrics they could hear made the joke obvious. Tonks, using some of her recovered strength, kicked Drift in his dashboard. Rally and Burnout could be heard groaning as their deviant friend turned off the radio.

"Sorry, couldn't resist that, any sweeter and I'd have had to purge my tanks" he muttered with a snigger.

"Gimboid" Harry muttered with a face so scarlet it would do a Weasley proud.

"But I thought you said-" Harry's fast retreating dignity was saved by the timely intervention of Rally.

"Drift, shut the slag up, okay, seriously" she growled.

Tonks very carefully looked at Harry; aside from the poor boy's blush which was impressive; he seemed as if he was afraid of being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. For the moment, Tonks ignored it. The setting sun had cast another glorious cascade of purples and oranges across the land.

"Here's the turn off to Hogsmeade; you prepared for making one hell of an entrance, Harry?" Drift said, grinning like an idiot.

"I dunno, should I be?" he asked as Drift violently turned the corner, garnering a 'yahoo' from Tonks.

"Cos we're gonna make one. Here, Rally, pull over and let Harry transfer his gear into your boot" Drift carefully pulled over.

"Why?" the now British Racing green Subaru asked as she reversed back to them.

"Well I've got take Tonks somewhere else so Dumbledore and Pomfrey can get her to a safe place to recover. I can't take him because everyone will see for sure I'm driving myself" he explained as Harry jumped out, saying goodbye to Tonks as he did so.

"That's all well and good, but what's with this huge entrance duff?" she asked, feeling her aft weighed down by Harry's gear.

"Oh you, know, do a few skids, and make your blow back valve louder, hell make your turbo louder too" he said.

"So basically you want me to do the whole 'I have no real crankshaft' game, huh?" if Rally had been in robot mode, she'd be glaring.

"Well….yeah that's basically it" Drift affirmed.

"Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?" Harry asked, checking over his belongings and their position in the boot.

"No you don't" Burnout muttered.

Once Harry was satisfied that everything was packed securely, he settled into Rally's front passenger seat and allowed the female Transformer to begin driving again, this time a different turn off was taken. Drift and Burnout went to a secluded area of Hogsmeade to meet the Professors and Rally drove towards Hogwarts.

"While I don't totally agree with Drift's idea, Harry, I do like a good drive on a dirt road. So do you mind if I cut loose for a while?" she asked.

"Go nuts" Harry said, tightening his seatbelt.

"As you say" Rally's voice was full of mirth.

Suddenly Harry was pulled back into his seat as Rally's almost psychotic level of torque allowed the car to accelerate from a fairly sedate 30mph to 75mph in no time at all. Although normally she'd be kicking up dirt, Rally had decided to cheat and activated her racing tires. It wasn't long before they came across the Thestral Carriages.

"What the hell is pulling those buggies?" Rally asked, scanning one as they shot past, scaring the second years in the carriage.

"You can see the animals?" Harry asked back, somewhat shocked.

"Yeah, can't everyone?" Rally was confused now.

"Only people who've seen death can see them, they're called Thestrals" Harry explained, a sad look on his face.

"Ah, Cedric Diggory" Rally realised where Harry got that particular, effect.

"Okay, let's mix this up a bit" Rally muttered to divert from this depressing train of thought.

Then with nimbleness belying the size of her alt mode, Rally began zigzagging through the Thestral Carriages, scaring most of the students. Harry noted with some humour that Draco Malfoy had fallen off his seat in fright as the car zoomed past his carriage.

"That was funny, but what do we do about people seeing you drive……" Harry trailed off when he saw a three dimensional image of Tonks appear in front of him.

"It's called a hard light Hologram. I can project it inside the car and for a range of about twenty feet outside it; I can even pick stuff up" 'Tonks' grinned at Harry.

"Man, this just gets better and better" Harry muttered.

At the gates of Hogwarts, several teachers stood at the ready when they heard the approaching roar of Rally's engine, mistaking it for an animal. Fortunately, the Muggle Studies Professor pointed out it was a car, a Muggle invention; though that did not explain why it worked in Hogwarts' grounds.

In a final display of her skills, Rally did a 180 degree revolution skid in front of the steps, showing some students in dirt and rocks. Rally sat for a few seconds, idling to allow her turbo to cool down. Harry thought it best he get out and take care of his school things. Gently opening the door, Harry stepped out, looking sheepish.

"Hello Professor McGonagall, Hagrid" Harry said quietly as he opened Rally's boot to retrieve his belongings.

"Potter, an interesting choice of travel arrangement. The carriages not good enough for you now?" Snape asked icily.

'Arrogant prat' Rally thought, gunning her engine, causing the Wizard raised students to back away in fear.

However the Muggle born students found this all very cool. Ministry cars were often old and boring English models. The more astute among them recognised this as the imported Japanese rally car that it was, appraising it. Some even yelled out 'Nice wheels, Potter' to Harry.

Ron and Neville were examining the car from afar, Ginny and Luna also looking at with interest. Hermione however was less enthused: she was used to cars, although having never ridden in a WRX, she could tell from the sound it made and the way it drove that it was a sports car.

"Hermione, is that a car?" Luna asked, having never ever seen one before.

"Yeah, a sports car. That one gets mentioned on the news a lot, boy racers and thieves use it a lot. Goes very fast and handles English streets very well" she muttered, shaking her head.

"That was ruddy brilliant mate!" Seamus called from his position, Dean also lending a clap to the amazing display.

Harry couldn't help but grin at this, but wisely kept his head down as he jogged over to his friends. Rally smiled, using her Hologram to reach over and close the door, she gave her engine a kick, allowing some revs to build before moving into first gear. When she finally moved out of neutral, she shot forward quickly and followed the road back down to Hogsmeade to meed Drift and Burnout.

"Evening all, how was the train ride?" Harry asked with a snigger at his friend's faces.

"Why do I get the feeling that this year will only get stranger" Hermione said, giving Harry a gentle hug.

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Hogsmeade was not Transformer friendly. Drift was now in fact convinced that it was designed to by Anti-Autobot. Or at least anti car; the cobblestones were making his wheels ache, despite his suspension. However his suffering wasn't in vain: it was all to make sure Tonks arrived at this safe house quickly and in one piece.

"Seriously Tonks, get your people to make car friendly roads; this is bollocks" he muttered, turning up a smoother dirt path.

"What can I say Drift, we're not a very car orientated society. Hell I'm surprised you even got as close to Hogwarts as you did; most muggle world tech curls up and dies a few miles from it" Tonks said.

"Really? Well, we'll get Burnout to do that little investigation. How about it quack, up to it?" Drift asked, smiling inanely in his own way.

"Blow it out your exhaust" the medic muttered darkly.

Soon after that fascinating conversation, they pair of Transformers happened upon a cottage. Dumbledore was standing outside the gates; and he was making some magic. He had constructed a makeshift garage for them. He also performed some similar spells in it to allow them to stand up and walk around inside it.

'Dimensional folding, very nice' Burnout noted as he walked around the large inside of the garage.

Drift came to a careful stop and opened his door. Poppy stood waiting with a wheelchair. Gingerly stepping out, Tonks managed to walk over and lower herself into the chair. Poppy took this as a good sign; she was already strong enough to walk on her own in small amounts.

"What happened to the kid that stabbed me?" Tonks asked, suddenly feeling very afraid for him.

"I contacted Kingsley; I told him that the boy had seen some accidental magic from Harry. Since the incident isn't without precedent, he was able to use the appropriate memory modifying magic without raising undue suspicion" Dumbledore explained, putting his friend's worries at rest.

"Thank Merlin, I thought Burnout and Drift might have hurt him. Not that I don't appreciate the thought guys" she said with a nervous smile.

"Believe me, we would have been the least of his problems" Burnout smiled smugly as he reread the sensor readings from Harry when they'd escorted the offending Mr. Wallace.

"What do you mean?" Tonks got a little nervous again.

"Don't worry, I assure you, the boy is, regrettably, unharmed and lightly punished for his transgression" the Irish Transformer groaned and began to make a listing of equipment he would need to build some recharge berths and other devices they may need.

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Not too long after Tonks was settled in a room in the actual house, Rally arrived. Burnout was still busy taking stock of their needs. He'd asked Dumbledore if they could perhaps help at least procure raw materials.

"I'll see what I can do, but I don't think it will be too much of a problem. Most of it should be obtainable from simple transfiguration spells" Dumbledore agreed to help; after all, they owed Tonks' life to these remarkable beings.

"Harry arrived alright did he?" Drift asked, smiling on the inside.

"Yes, some of the students were positively terrified of me, you'd think they'd never seen a car before" Rally muttered, transforming to take in the amazing feat used to create their new home.

"It is possible that some of them have not. Anyway, the feast should be starting soon, and we are already late. Come Poppy, I mustn't miss giving my speech" Dumbledore said

The house had been purchased under Dumbledore's name and therefore easily had it connected to the Floo network. Simply calling up his office and bidding Tonks a good night, Dumbledore and Poppy left the cottage. Suddenly, despite the company of the Transformers, Tonks felt rather lonely.

'I wonder what Harry's doing now?' she thought idly, twirling some hair around her finger before lying down to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone except Harry found it strange that Dumbledore missed the Sorting Ceremony; after all Harry knew exactly where he was. However the feast was something Dumbledore never missed. Sure enough, the doors opened and in he strode, a reassuring smile on his face. Without much more ceremony, he took his place at the table.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts. I'm sorry I missed the sorting ceremony, I was unavoidably detained. That being said, I will quickly make the introductions for this term" Dumbledore paused and pointed to the large man on his left.

"This is Professor Horace Slughorn, an old friend of mine and new Potions teacher. Due to that, it is my pleasure to announce that Professor Snape has agreed to take over the position of Defence against the Dark Arts" Dumbledore smiled at Snape, much to everyone's dismay.

'So that explains what Tonks said that day' Harry pondered the words, wondering how the Auror was going.

Making a small note to call her over their comm when all was done here in the great hall. Dumbledore delivered his obligatory 'Now, tuck in' finisher and boom, food as far as they eye could see appeared on their tables. Harry absently picked up an apple and began munching on it. Tonks mentioned she liked apples.

'Oh dear, I'm very fast going somewhere I shouldn't be going' Harry thought wryly, remembering when Drift very nearly dropped him in it earlier today.

"Harry mate, you okay, looking a little out of it there fella" Ron gently tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Sorry Ron, a little preoccupied at the moment" Harry said as Ron smiled at his friend.

"Who drove you to Hogwarts mate, Tonks?" Ron asked, taking a large gulp of Pumpkin Juice.

"Yeah, her dad taught her to drive, being a Muggle born" Harry wasn't sure if it was a lie or not.

"Well either way, I heard she scared Malfoy off his carriage. Merlin I wish I'd been there for that" he chortled.

Hermione rolled her eyes as Ginny and Ron began laughing at the idea of it. Neville and the visiting Luna both watched Harry with a curious stare: they could tell something was up, although what it was they weren't sure.

"Are you okay Harry? You seem preoccupied" Luna asked, leaning over and getting uncomfortably close to Harry's face.

"Like I said Luna, my summer wasn't the greatest. I had a bridge fall on me after all" he said.

Harry's friends who weren't in the know, so to speak, turned and looked at him. Suddenly they began firing questions at him at a million miles a minute. Fortunately for him, Ron and Hermione managed to deflect and answer all the important questions.

"So, Tonks saved your life?" Luna asked.

"Yes, that's the long and the short of it. Without her, I'd be very much dead" Harry admitted, going a little red.

"And you were worried about him having Tonks with him, Ginny" Neville said, smiling,

"I only said that she was a little clumsy Neville" Ginny replied heatedly.

Harry felt, defensive for Tonks, since she wasn't able to defend herself. Harry turned a little and took a long penetrating look at Ginny.

"Ginny, I admit, Tonks is a bit uncoordinated at times. But when push comes to shove, she's a good woman to have your back" Harry said, keeping a level tone and stare on the younger girl.

"Well pardon me for caring" Ginny snapped, returning to her food.

Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks while Neville and Luna merely looked confused. The rest of the dinner was held in a very uncomfortable silence, Ginny and Harry practically savaging their food, shooting each other dirty looks. In fact it was so disconcerting that when the children were eventually sent to their dorms, the rest of Harry and Ginny's friends breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Bloody hell, what is Ginny's problem?" Harry said, looking exasperated.

"I dunno, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I guess she's just worried. She's pretty fond of you, you know that right?" Ron offered an explanation.

"I know" Harry leaned against a window, looking out over the grounds of his home.

"Pardon me for saying so Harry, but you looked like you'd have gone toe to toe with Ginny for Tonks' name there" Ron tentatively touched on something he'd noticed during his time at Grimmauld Place.

"I told you Ron, she saved my life, nearly lost her own doing it too. It's hard not to feel like I should speak up for her" Harry allowed a small smile at the Auror's name.

Ron seemed to accept that and retired to bed, drawing his curtains around his four poster bed. Soon after, a soft snoring sound confirmed his fatigue. Harry went down to the common room, not feeling sleepy. Taking up residence in one of the large chairs near the fireplace, Harry meditated on what lay ahead.

'Defence was once my best class, not so much chance of that now. Potions might pick up though. And then of course, there is; the prophecy. Neither may live while the other survives. If I ever find what celestial being wrote that in the heaven's, I'm gonna smack him' Harry leaned back, the warmth of the fire and the exhaustion in his bones taking their toll.

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Back in the safe house, Tonks was sleeping soundly, Burnout lying online on a large chair monitoring her to ensure no complications such as infection took hold in the night. For temporary power, Drift had driven about 10 miles out to the nearest non magical area and jerry rigged some power pole to provide them with electricity.

'Soon as Dumbledore gets me some raw materials, I can get the lab going again. With all the space he's given me, I could set up a small Energon refinery' he thought.

Although strictly a Surgeon of medical technique, building equipment wasn't beyond his skills. Combined with the battlefield know how and practical experience of his two companions, they were usually able to get smaller stuff going easily enough. The refinery however, would present a challenge; it would need to be setup very slowly. For now, converters attached the recharge berths would suffice.

Burnout's thinking took him well into the next morning, his train of concentration derailed by a soft, female voice.

"You been awake all night?" Tonks asked.

"Pretty much, if you're not feeling in imminent danger of shut down, I need some recharge and offline time. You able to get to the kitchen for sustenance?" Burnout muttered, stretching his joints as he stood.

"I'll be fine, you go catch some kip" Tonks hoisted herself into the wheelchair

"Thank Primus for that" the Irish motorbike muttered as he went down to the garage for his recharge.

Dumbledore had the good sense to use a single story cottage for this small operation so that Tonks would have as little trouble as possible. Once in the kitchen, Tonks grit her teeth and stood up. Her midsection no longer burnt like it was on fire. It was still very tender however.

'What ever Burnout and Poppy did is working a sodding miracle. At this rate I'll be good to go in a few days' she thought proudly ambling over to a larder.

It seemed Dumbledore had remembered that Tonks also couldn't cook worth a toss. The larder had several pre prepared meals that need only be heated up with some simple spells. However her eyes darted straight to the large dish of apples. Squeaking with glee, she grabbed one and began eating it.

"Oh that is a good apple" she groaned, crunching it.

Conjuring a walking stick for herself, Tonks walked to the garage, taking in the vastness of it. Tall enough to allow Drift and Rally to walk upright and large enough to accommodate them and perhaps others. Rally bounded over gently to her friend once she saw her.

"Feeling better I see" she smiled at Tonks, causing the young woman to giggle.

"Thanks to all of you, I'll be fine I'm sure. Thanks for saving my butt Rally" Tonks threw the apple core in a bin and hugged the giant robot.

"You're welcome, it is what friends do for each other after all" Rally gently nudged Tonks' chin with her left fist in a display of affection.

Tonks leaned past the newly green Autobot to see a most peculiar sight: Drift was sprawled out on a large steel table, legs and arms askew. It looked like many scenes from morning afters of parties that she'd been to.

"What's with him?" Tonks thumbed Drift's direction.

"Once he got his innards rearranged again, he went for a spin. He's now got to recharge. Silly bugger" Rally said, a little louder than normal.

Drift made a sort of snorting noise and shifted his weight a little and continued recharging. Rally and Tonks shook their head and shared a look that basically said 'men, what can you do?' and decided to sit outside.

The cool morning hair really woke Tonks up. It snuck up her dressing gown and she squeaked at the chill. Rally cocked her head to the side and narrowed one optic. Tonks explained that sudden changes in temperature with humans may cause them to do something funny.

"Not so different are we. Although the temperature change isn't big enough to make me do something funny" Rally mused.

"No, only you're made of metal, and I'm not" Tonks giggled and made herself a deck chair.

"Bah, mere details my dear" Rally gave a shake of her hand and smiled in understanding.

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'Worst. Class. Ever' Harry groaned, rubbing his eyes as he continued taking his notes.

Snape was milking this for all it was worth. He had made them do hard copying of several chapters in the book for good measure. Then it was silent spell casting; and that had been a huge pain. Of course Snape had partnered him with Malfoy, who was still smarting over being made to fall out of his carriage.

"You'll pay for that humiliation Potter, mark my words" Draco hissed at him as they began the silent casting exercises.

'Doesn't this man ever get tired of being a pain?' Harry wondered as he tried to cast Expelliarmus without speaking.

The lesson was both physically and psychologically draining for all of the students. Less so for Harry since he didn't bother trying to hide is contempt for Snape. Once that unpleasant business was done, Harry and Ron made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch: they had some serious practicing to get in.

"Okay you lot, get your arses into gear" Ron yelled, getting everyone's attention.

"Right, we're trialling positions for two new Chasers and both of the Beaters. Seeker position remains unchanged, as does first Chaser and Keeper" Ron read from the list he'd made during History of Magic that day.

"Why only two Chasers?" a curious voice asked from the back.

"You want to fight my sister for that position it's your head on the block mate, both of them" Ron called back.

A small giggle rippled across the crowd as Ginny allowed herself a viscous smirk. Harry kept a respectful distance from the red haired fire cracker; not wanting a fight to erupt between them. Ron read a few more announcements and drew the meeting to a close.

"Okay, Beaters here, and Chasers here" Harry yelled, indicating a pair of barrels: one with Quaffles and one with Beater Bats.

The trials lasted about three hours. Ron was mainly drawing on knowledge from watching professional matches on how to choose his Beaters. Ginny offered advice and opinions on who to pick as the new Chasers.

"Okay, we'll review this and submit our choices to Professor McGonagall later. Thank you all, now go relax and scrub up" Harry called out.

Harry had made his thoughts known. So that left Ron and Ginny, asking for input from Dean and Seamus who'd watched the tryouts for the sake of something to do. Harry went up to his dorm; he wanted to speak to Tonks. Rummaging through his Trunk he found the communicator unit Drift had given him.

"Hey Drift, you awake?" Harry asked.

"Sure am, how have your first few have days of school been?" he asked amiably.

"I'll let you know when I'm sure I know myself. Is Tonks about?" Harry asked, trying hard not to sound anxious.

"Sure, I'll get Burnout to send a comm. up to her room" Drift's advanced audio sensors allowed him to hear the repressed nervousness in the boy's voice.

There were a few seconds of silence and a scream and a mutter before Harry heard Tonks' voice again.

"Hey Harry, what's the word on the street?" she asked, stretching out gently on her bed.

"Not much, Ron and Ginny are going over Quidditch places for new members. You were right, Snape is the Defence teacher. This may be the first year my Defence grade has been bad" Harry said with a chuckle.

"What about Slughorn?" Tonks asked, reaching for an apple.

"He's okay; certainly more even handed in class about how he runs things. Got a bit of a fixation on fame though, it's kinda freakish" he admitted.

"He's a social climber, Harry, both drawn to fame and a coveter of it. Men like him need watching" Tonks warned, chewing her apple.

"How's your stomach?" Harry asked outright, getting nervous.

"Fine, hell, Burnout will have me walking and running in a week. I meanwhile get to laze around at this place, eat and sleep as a please and hang out with Rally…I should get stabbed in the stomach more often" Tonks smiled.

"Don't say that" Harry said, very quickly and very low.

"I'm taking the mick, Harry. I promise" Tonks smiled, but was secretly very flattered that Harry seemed to care so much.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It just scared me, when, you got stabbed" he admitted, swallowing some saliva that had accumulated in his throat.

"I can imagine; there's a certain; dullness about seeing the killing curse so many times. But to be hurt in such a way that makes your body bleed, it's a whole a new kind of fear" Tonks said, seeing why it affected him so.

"You a philosopher in your spare time, Tonks?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

"No, but Rally can be rather poetic when the mood takes her" Tonks revealed the source of her introspection.

"How are they doing?" Harry asked after his new friends.

"They're fine, although Drift hates the Hogsmeade roads. Thinks they were built that way to spite him" Tonks giggled as she remembered his whining.

"Tonks, listen, um, next Hogsmeade weekend I have, would you like to, have lunch or something?" Harry blurted the idea out before he could really think it over.

"I don't think Hogsmeade would be a good idea Harry" Tonks said, a little taken aback from the offer.

"Oh, that's okay, I understand" Harry said, failing to not sound disappointed.

"How about that village a few miles from Hogsmeade, instead?" Tonks offered, hearing his voice.

"Deal, I'll organise some Muggle money and we'll get a cab or something" Harry said, perking up immensely.

"No, I'll take you" Rally offered, making her presence known.

"I feel kind of bad making you guys our personal taxis you know" Harry said with no small amount of embarrassment.

"Meh, I'm offering the favour here, so just shut up and say thank you" Rally teased.

"Thank you Rally" Harry said, laughing loudly now.

A growing chorus of voices alerted Harry to imminent company. Quickly saying his goodbyes and stowing his precious devices in his trunk again, Harry quickly got changed into his sleeping garments.

"So, what's the final verdict?" Harry asked Ron as his friend sat down.

"Dean and, Doug McHold are gonna be the new Chasers. If only because Dean was the one who worked best with Ginny, she can bring him up to speed fast enough and Doug, is a quick little shit on that broom" Ron explained, throwing on his old jumper for sleep.

"And the Beaters?" he pressed.

"Well, I'm a bit in the air with that, Seamus is one option but I'd rather discuss it with you tomorrow. For right now, I want sleep" Ron murmured.

"Good call mate" Harry said and rolled over to sleep.

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The three weeks before the first Hogsmeade weekend went painfully slow. The worst part was the Slug Club party. Harry groaned as he remembered; the sheer amount of pompous arrogance that had been floating around in that room had been immense. As a diffuser, Harry had asked Luna to accompany him, as his friend. Luna had been rather pleased with the invitation; it gave her a chance to ask an experienced Wizard about some of the creatures she and her father had been looking for.

'Old Slughorn looked like he was about to go crazy' Harry thought with a dark smile, remembering to pick her up a thank you present or something.

Harry bade his friends a farewell, said he was off to just chill in the woods. Once at the designated place, Harry was picked up Tonks and Rally. After greeting them both warmly, Harry jumped into the passenger seat. With a squeal of tires, they shot off towards the small village. Harry had planned ahead and used a small Utilities office in Hogsmeade to exchange some of his Galleons for Pounds, allowing him a lunch budget of around one hundred and fifty Pounds.

"How've your Defence classes been?" Tonks asked conversationally as they drove.

"Well, I'm just gritting my teeth and getting through it. Snape is not an easy teacher, but I'd be stupid to say he's not good" Harry conceded.

"Fair enough, just watch him. I don't like Snape, I never have. So I want you to be careful; if he steps out of line, let me know" Tonks said, feeling unusually interested in the young man.

"I will. It's nice to know I'm not alone in not trusting him" Harry said, feeling relieved.

"Don't mistake a lack of trust for a lack of respect. I respect Snape, if only because that respect keeps me on my toes" Tonks admonished, gingerly rubbing her belly.

"Does it still hurt?" Harry asked, pointing to the scars.

"A little. But thanks to the, capable, ministrations of Burnout and some potions from Madam Pomfrey I'm nearly totally healed now. I go running in Hogsmeade most days, keep fit" Tonks explained, leaning back in the seat.

Harry couldn't help but let his eyes travel up her lithe form. Tonks was already a fit woman, this he knew. Her stomach was flat; its only blemishes the four small marks that indicated her stab wounds. The bright green tank top hugged her figure in a most alluring manner. The black denim jacket she wore gave her the appearance of a young woman from the punk era. White tennis shoes and blue jeans completed her eclectic ensemble.

'He's looking at me' Tonks thought with a small smile on her face.

Normally when men looked her over, the reaction in Tonks usually floated between mild annoyance to outright anger if she felt their gaze lingered too long or if the staring persons made lewd comments. Harry on the hand seemed to admire her like she was a piece of artwork. Taking in all of her, not just her chest, and legs. It was very, fulfilling for her.

"Might want to take a photo, Harry, it'll last longer" Tonks decided to have some fun with him.

To Harry's surprise, Rally suddenly jerked to one side, making Tonks hit her head on the window. Harry on the other hand, didn't so much as move. Tonks groaned, rubbing her sore temple.

"Rally, what was that for?" she whined, making Harry snigger at her tone.

A small display screen appeared in Rally's steering wheel and a message scrolled across it: 'Don't tease him so much' it said. Tonks snapped her mouth shut; clearly Rally was on Harry's side.

"Sorry Harry, I wasn't trying to be mean. I get looked at a lot, sometimes I come out with a smart arse remark to keep the perverts at bay" she explained, looking abashed.

"You think I'm a pervert?" Harry asked, feeling scandalised.

"No, no of course not" Tonks was quick to save the poor boy's confidence.

'By Primus, even I can sense their pheromones and I'm not even equipped with medical sensors' Rally grumbled as she slowly came to a stop outside a village called Taggarts Crossing.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes:

Thanks to my Beta's AbeoUmbra, Gryphon-Kyrdra and Aussigh. This chapter was uploaded due to my one belief that chapter six, while setting scene and doing some interaction and other mundane stuff, is exactly that: mundane. So here is the chapter you've all been waiting for...HONKS fluff

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Tonks and Harry, now suitably giggling at each other's faux pas found a small Italian café. The waitress seated them by the window, given the café was nearly empty it wasn't a problem to get the seat. Harry ordered a bowl of spaghetti for himself and an Alfredo dish for Tonks. As a free appetiser, some Garlic bread had been supplied.

"This place is nice, how did you find it?" Harry asked; taking in the surrounds.

"I spied it coming down the motorways. I think it was when you nodded off for an hour or so" she explained.

The silence that came was uncomfortable and thick with tension. Harry even felt as if he could handle anything but silence from this woman. The tension was further increased by the question that broke the silence.

"Harry, what do you think of me?" Harry couldn't have been more scared if Voldemort himself had waltzed in carrying a machine gun and grenades, chomping a cigar.

"I'll be honest Tonks, I truly don't know. You know young blokes like me; our eyes wander at most things in a short skirt. Since being back at school…I haven't noticed many girls" Harry came with an answer that said something and nothing at the same time.

"Harry, don't fence with me please. I'm not blind, nor am I stupid" Tonks reached into her jacket and removed a piece of paper.

"Here, look at this" she said softly, crunching on some garlic bread as she waited.

Harry looked at the paper in confusion. All it showed was a basic outline of the human body with several wavy lines around it and terms and paragraphs he didn't understand.

"Tonks, what on earth is this?" he asked, clearly not understanding.

"The red lines indicate the normal amount of internal energy put out by the average wizard of your age. The blue one is my age group. That large yellow one is Dumbledore" she said, drinking some red wine.

"What's this ruddy great green one then?" he asked, getting less confused and pointing at a green line that eclipsed all the others by a huge margin.

"That, my dear Boy Who Lived, is you. At around 7:30pm, when Dumbledore and Burnout were escorting young Mr. Wallace from the room; Burnout got that reading from you" Tonks fixed Harry with a piercing look.

"I did what?" Harry asked, momentarily disorientated.

"It was when they escorted that little prat Wallace upstairs to Obliviate him, Burnout said your energy output stayed that way until you broke eye contact with him" Tonks put her wine down.

"So I'll ask you again; what do you think about me?" Tonks interweaved her fingers and laid her chin on them, looking at Harry.

This time there was less tension but rather expectation in the air. Both were expecting the worst and hoping for the best in terms of the response. Harry sat and thought: he had become rather fond of Tonks of the past few weeks, even going so far as to ask Professor Flitwick about her time at Hogwarts. He'd heard a few horror stories about her tenacious attitude towards ungrateful boyfriends; however in the interests of not scaring himself, he'd checked other things about her too.

She was simply the most stunning woman he'd ever met, in either of her forms that he'd seen (aside from the old lady of course) and yet, her sense of fun and the huge heart she had, she lit up the room when she walked in, literally in some cases where she knocked over a candle or two. But more than that, even though he knew some confident young girls, Tonks was no wallflower. She was powerful and dangerous too. Something about her attracted Harry at a level so primal he was sure it simply because if he could win her heart, it would be like planting your flag on Mars.

Of course coming back to planet Earth, Harry reminded himself that he was a mere teenager, a slip of a boy with a large bullseye printed on his forehead and an uncanny ability to get himself in to deep shit on a regular basis. Tonks on the other hand, in his own mind, was a professional woman with a career and a life, both of which would be cut irreparably short if they even went a whiff beyond being friends. But, she'd treated him like an adult, even if he didn't always act like it, so he would at least do her the return curtesy.

"I like you Tonks, hell I think I like you a lot. I'm damned if I know why or when this started, and I guess like most of my problems I thought it would go away if I ignored it, which, clearly it isn't" Harry, on a whim, reached over to Tonks' glass and before she could protest, took a swig of the wine.

"Wow……that tasted like arse" he said, handing back the glass with a pained grimace.

"How would you know how arse tastes?" Tonks asked, smirking something fierce.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. That sadistic prick really does mean _every flavour_, trust me" Harry said, drinking some water to get rid of the taste of the wine.

'If he was any cuter I'd cry' Tonks thought with a giggle.

"Why do you ask?" Harry decided that he'd been sniped at enough this round, his turn now.

"Simply because Harry, I don't like to think of myself as some cradle snatcher. You've had your feelings toyed with enough and I won't do that to you, I respect you too much" Tonks admitted, going a little red as their food was delivered.

"Oh….Right" Harry was lucky he was sitting, had he been standing, he'd have fallen down.

Rally, who had been listening to the entire conversation, was having a great deal of difficulty controlling her sniggering. They were both like a young pair of mech's she knew back on Cybertron, in the days gone by. There was, it seemed a silence, far more comfortable than the last had taken over as the pair began to eat.

'Well, may as well see what's playing on Radio Glasgow or something' she thought, tapping into the radio waves.

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Tonks and Harry had come clean it seemed about their mutual attraction: although now a greater problem remained. What to do about it, the legal, moral and psychological problems seemed almost insurmountable and indeed, the legal ones seemed the biggest and most frightening of all. Harry knew Tonks loved her job and her friends; Harry loved his too, but he could count on one hand those that would stand by him through something like this. He also didn't hold much hope for sympathy from her employers: after all, they'd spent the better part of the last year trying to have him committed or branded a liar…

…Yet, a glimmer of hope remained, the same that might not exist if not for three extraordinary beings, one of which had sat outside, protecting them while they shared this small revelation.

About an hour later, Tonks (a little bit tipsy from the wine) and Harry came out of the café and hopped inside Rally. Taking care to guide her to the back seats, Harry nodded once they were inside, making Rally generate a holographic driver so as not to arouse suspicion on their trip home.

This time, Harry was ignoring the sunset totally, and instead was focused on the kaleidoscope leaning against him. Tonks' slight inebriation had put her in a playful, dreamy mood. Despite the alcohol however, the colour changes were almost cinematic, fading from her favoured pink to a dark red colour, then to a green that matched both his eyes and Rally's paint job. Feeling brave, Harry reached out and began stroking Tonks' hair.

'She'll either take my hand off, or…' to Harry's surprise, Tonks' reaction was to almost purr, like a cat.

Tonks, now abandoning all semblance of safety had slipped her belt off and was now lying in Harry's lap, clearly enjoying the affectionate gesture. Harry looked down at Tonks: here eyes were shut but she was still giggling.

"Chasing bunnies?" he asked with a grin.

"Nope, chasing Harrys" she replied, her own grin a seamless mix between wide eyed innocence and seduction.

Harry considered the smile: even his resilience was worn down after around three seconds and he doubted any other sixteen year old male would fare any better than him. Tonks took the opportunity to get a look at his eyes, the windows to the soul as it were. She didn't believe much of that metaphysical crap, but she knew from experience that eyes could not lie: they were the most honest part of the body.

'Though the door seems as jagged and honest as the occupant' she thought, again feeling sadness encase her heart.

Gently she reached up and put Harry's cheek in her palm. She felt the beginnings of stubble on his chin and jaw, small bumps and a few scars: undoubtedly from the Tri Wizard Tournament.

"It isn't bloody fair is it, Harry" Tonks muttered from his lap.

"What's not fair?" he asked, confused at her question.

"Life. You've been nothing but wonderful and reasonably stable. Yet you've had a responsibility put on you that no…" she stopped, rethinking her words.

"No what?" Harry pressed, gently covering her hand with his own, caressing the top of it with his thumb.

"I nearly said child, but that would be disingenuous and cruel. You're not a child; you're a young man who's still trying to find his place in the world. Why you, why not someone I don't know so well now or someone older, more fitted to this burden" Tonks sounded angry and bitter about it.

"Actually, I'm now of the opinion that it's good that life isn't fair" Harry deflected with a chuckle.

"How can you say that?" Tonks began to draw him closer, biting her bottom lip as she did so.

There was a meeting of eyes, green to violet. Harry felt energy pass between them, and felt his stomach do a little somersault when he saw her biting her lip, it seemed so innocent.

"Because then I'd know that I deserved all the terrible things that happened to me" Harry's throat became dry and he licked his lips.

Tonks was drawing him closer, a heady scent of apples and dark chocolate drawing him in. The car had gone almost silent; the only thing Harry or Tonks could hear was the gentle breathing of the other, punctuated by the rise and fall of their chests. She was torturously close now, her breath tingling on his lips, causing him to shudder.

"True, but then you'd also know you truly deserved something, like, this" Tonks' final words were almost haggard whispers as she gently kissed him.

Harry's senses exploded at the touch of Tonks' lips on his. They were smooth, soft and moist. He had to bite back a giggle as he tasted a mixture of the red wine and the creamy Italian meal she'd just eaten. Tonks took it a step further and began to gently move her lips across Harry's.

Harry let out a growl and pressed down on Tonks' lips, their hot breath tickling their noses. Harry, again running on hearsay, began to nibble on Tonks' bottom lip. The action took Tonks by surprise making her open her mouth.

'Well, here goes nothing' Harry thought and gently snaked his tongue into Tonks' mouth.

'Sneaky bugger aren't you Harry?' Tonks allowed herself a very lurid grin.

Not to be outdone by the young man, Tonks began to take charge of the situation. Allowing Harry's tongue in, she began to gently rub her tongue up and down his own. They could both feel the temperature in the car raise considerably and a smell too, reminding Tonks of leather, sweat and chocolates.

'And now, the Coup de grâce' Tonks gently bit down on Harry's tongue.

Harry had heard Ginny and Hermione waxing lyrical over kisses. Reading passages from trashy romance novels aloud and laughing or swooning at them. Dean Thomas once said kissing Lavender was like getting an electric eel in his mouth.

'None of that schoolyard bullshit even comes close to this' he thought, gently opening his eyes as he broke the kiss gently, stroking her cheek.

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Rally had respectfully turned her sensor attention elsewhere when they began kissing. Using her spare time, she decided to look up in her own internal database, having been heavily supplemented by books and information made available to them from Dumbledore's extensive library. The main problem was that Harry was at least one year away from legal age of consent in the Wizard world. So any relationship would land Tonks in the dreaded Wizard prison of Azkaban as a sex offender.

"Its hypocritical really, they give him an adult's duties but not an adult's rights" she said to her brother over their comm. link.

"True, but what can we do about it?" he asked, genuinely curious if his sister had a plan.

"Well, if Tonks and Harry are both willing, we speak with Dumbledore" the green Subaru WRX said.

"And tell him what, excuse me Headmaster, do you think it would be okay if you let Harry out every now and then to bone his adult girlfriend. No law in the land will let them get away with shite like that" Burnout's rigid tones interrupted their conversation.

"For one, who asked you? And two, the laws and the land can kiss my aft. If she's the one that lifts his Spark, then they're coming through me to stop it" Rally said, being careful in her cornering today.

"You and me both" Drift answered, also ignoring Burnout.

Rally gently came to a stop just outside Hogsmeade. Harry and Tonks had since broken their kiss and had become rather attached to one another and had even fallen asleep. Rally gently sent a shudder her chassis to wake them up. Rubbing their eyes, they both smiled at each other.

"I'll see you later, I'll use the comm. unit to call you tomorrow if you want to talk" Harry said, drawing Tonks into a hug.

"Okay" she said, rubbing his back before Harry broke the hug and stepped out of Rally.

"Tonks; where do we go from here, if this gets out?" he asked, it was a question he hated to ask, but again was going respect Tonks enough to ask the question to her face.

"What direction is the wind blowing?" she asked.

"North easterly, at about half a knot" Rally supplied.

"What she said" Harry replied with a small smile.

"Then that's the direction we go, our friends will help us, all of them, not just Rally and Drift" Tonks said, giving Harry a smile that would light a thousand candles.

"Okay, I'll just remember to pack a broomstick" Harry responded as he turned to walk towards Hogwarts.

Then he remembered something he'd heard Alicia mention once. Why he remembered it now Harry had no idea, but it was cool and would work. Quietly muttering an incantation, he kissed his palm and threw it towards Tonks in the traditional fashion. What wasn't so traditional was the small gold spark that flew lazily towards her.

'He's just full of surprises isn't he' she thought as she caught the kiss; pressing it to her lips.

"Thank you Harry, goodnight now" she called, blowing a kiss back, without as much magical fanfare this time.

As Rally pulled out and drove away with her clearly besotted passenger, Harry looked to the sky to see the setting sun. He smiled and wondered if it was him or if even for a setting sun, it was just a bit brighter than normal.

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Harry held a smile on his face for over a week. It wasn't lurid, or rude. It was a soft sort of smile, like he was contemplating a happy memory. The first Quidditch match was this very afternoon. And for some reason, given what had happened to him in Hogsmeade, Harry was sure that even if he lost every Quidditch match of the season, he'd still be happy about the way his year was going.

"Looks like a good day for Quidditch" he said with a small grin, grabbing his broom and clothing bag.

The pitch was starting to fill up. Students with nothing better to do often congregated there for a few quick words, or more private moments. Hell, Harry had heard Penny Stonecastle say the underneath of the stands was a good spot for a few spliffs between friends. Harry may have been naïve about certain things in the Wizard world, but things of the Muggle variety were known enough to him: Marijuana was no exception.

'What happens on the boat, stays on the boat' Harry remembered George saying once in regards to stuff like this.

"I wonder what made me think of that?" he asked himself as he changed into his gear, other team mates falling in and splitting up to go to the appropriate change area.

"Think of what?" Ron asked, pulling on his shirt.

"Penny Stonecastle and the rest of dopey friends, bonging away under the pitch" Harry chuckled.

"You'd do best to stay well clear of that shit mate, nothing but drama" Dean said, making sure his pants were on tight enough.

"Who are the new beaters again?" Harry asked as Neville asked Dean to help him with his gloves.

"Carlotta 'Curly' Lane and Gina Starfall, both a year below us" Ron grunted as he sat down to mentally prepare himself.

"They are one hell of a pair, and bloody good looking to boot" Dean whispered to Harry with a lewd grin.

Harry rolled his eyes and shoved Dean away: cliché that it sounded, Harry was only able to think of Tonks. It wasn't as if she owned him or took away his ability to find a girl attractive, he still though Cho was good looking and had to agree with Dean's sentiment regarding his two new female team mates.

'But I'd go straight to Tonks if given the choice…Oh boy I'm a special kind of fucked' he thought wryly.

"Oi, dickhead, shape up" Ginny hurled a Quaffle at him.

Then a most peculiar thing happened. Harry saw and caught the Quaffle. Not an interesting thing in itself, but Ginny had a hell of an arm and there was less than six feet between them. Harry sat and stared at the ball, a slow sense of confusion clouding his mind.

"Wow, with reflexes like that, we've got Ravenclaw over the barrel" Ron said, Ginny giving the boy a penetrating and calculating stare.

Dean, Doug and the newly appointed Beaters, Curly and Gina all looked at Harry with a mixture of awe and guarded interest. Ron however was just waking up the fact that now he had to go over the plan for the game. It was simple enough in its own way: score as many goals as possible, don't get hit by Beater balls and don't get in Harry's way when he was looking for the Snitch.

"I will of course be making sure nothing gets through my goal rings. If that's all, our public awaits" Ron pointed towards the pitch.

Harry stopped as the last of his team mates, including a still suspicious looking Ginny and a cheering Dean and Doug. Ron still looked nervous as hell. Harry could tell by the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fist. Harry patted his oldest and closest friend on the shoulder.

"Come on mate, lets show them Gryffindor courage shall we" Harry said.

"Okay, win, lose or draw…Ravenclaw will know they played Gryffindor!" the words seemed to have the desired effect, bringing Ron out of his funk.

"Lets roll out" Harry muttered, putting on his game face.

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Roughly five hundred miles away in the afternoon sun, on Salisbury Plain a Challenger II tank sat, idly in the middle of the training ground. Beside it was a large Low Loader truck; a large pair of motor cannons sat astride its back. A cloud of dust appeared on the horizon: a jeep. The tank's main turret moved to aim at the vehicle.

"Stand down Brawl, it is only Swindle," a calm and toneless voice emanated from the low loader.

"No sale, I still wanna shoot him" the tank growled back viscously.

"Swindle and his particular, talents, have their place in this squad…as yours do" the low loader replied.

"Good evening Brawl, Commander Onslaught, how are ya?" the newly arrived jeep spoke in a voice not unlike that employed by used car salesmen.

"Now you are here, we may transform" Onslaught said and with their telltale noises echoing over the military ground, the three Combaticons transformed.

"Were you able to make contact with Blast Off and Vortex?" Brawl demanded, shaking his fist at Swindle.

"Cool your processors Brawl, jeez. In short the answer is no, nothing in terms of verbal contact. Only radar blips about five hundred miles that way" Swindle pointed in the direction of Scotland.

"Hmm, this could prove difficult. You and I may traverse the roads in relative peace, however Brawl's chosen disguise will rouse suspicion" Onslaught thought over the situation carefully.

"Gee, I wonder why that would be?" Swindle asked, being snark towards his comrade.

"Wanna say that again little bot, I got 7.26mm of slag you up on both arms" Brawl snarled, brandishing the machine guns on his arms.

"ENOUGH" Onslaught grew tired of the bickering.

"SIR!" both robots stood to attention.

"Swindle, see if you can arrange official transfer papers for us from this base to one near your last reported position of Vortex and Blast Off" Onslaught gave his black marketeer his instructions.

"Aye sir" Swindle replied, transforming into his jeep mode again and speeding off into the distance.

"He is very annoying, Onslaught, cocky and brash" Brawl muttered, transforming back to his tank mode.

"For one, those two words essentially mean the same thing, two, you are no different. Your battlefield is out here in the muck and plasma shells. Swindle's battlefield is the negotiating tables and black markets" Onslaught also transformed, rolling away to get out of the sun.

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At the same moment, a pair of sorry looking robots peeked from behind cover and stealth shields at RAF Lossiemouth. They were searching for alternate modes.

"I'm blaming you for this Vortex, I swear upon Primus himself, if Onslaught asks me, this is your fault" Blast Off muttered in his smug and lofty tone.

"What, I didn't do this, it isn't my fault you've got your cranial so far up your own aft you won't listen to me" Vortex muttered.

"Anyway, see anything you like?" Blast Off asked.

Vortex scanned the Airbase. There were lots of fighter squadrons but none of them had what Vortex needed. Almost giving up, he spied a visiting aircraft. A UH-60 Blackhawk.

"Shiny" he said, scanning it.

'Scrap for brains' Blast Off thought as Vortex applied the alt mode to himself.

Blast Off wanted something unique, something that befitted his high status among his fellow Combaticons. The air squadrons were all of the same boring and in his mind, pathetic aircraft.

'That would make me look like that great pretender Starscream, and that's a concept I'll pass on' he thought, struggling to see something else.

A noise made him look up. Above him hovered his salvation. The Mk II Harrier, or 'Jump Jet' as it was known. To Blast Off it was perfect, all the power of a fighter craft but with the convenience of being able to land anywhere.

"That's mine" he said aloud as he scanned the aircraft.

Blast Off and Vortex were now faced with a problem: where the hell were they going to hide. Deciding to stop crawling around like turbo-foxes and have some dignity, they transformed and took to the air.

"We can't hide here. We need somewhere very off the map, somewhere that we can setup a temporary communication unit to get in touch with Onslaught and the others" Blast Off said.

:Well thank you for that, I would never have figured it out on my own….Seriously I'm a bit slow but I'm not an idiot" Vortex grumbled.

"Just scan for somewhere to land please" Blast Off muttered, ignoring his friend's miffed mood.

They flew for a few hours, the sun slowly setting. Eventually they found what they were looking for. There was a large forest, one the grounds of what appeared to be a stone castle.

"I see lots of fleshies here: think Onslaught would mind if we did some target practice?" Blast Off asked his comrade.

"You switch moods so much I sometimes think you're a femme" Vortex muttered, seeing an appropriate clearing and landing in it.

The forest itself was massive and dark, although sunlight did filter through its canopy. Once he landed, Vortex transformed and removed one of his rotor blades and using it like a machete, hacked down some trees and scrub, allowing sufficient space for Blast Off to join him. The Harrier landed and also transformed to robot mode.

"Well, it's spacious enough. Can't say I like the wildlife though" Blast Off saw a creature on a rock, looking at him.

"You are trespassing" the centaur said, not seemingly alarmed by the large visitors.

"Vacate this area immediately or I will kill you" Blast Off replied blandly.

"Never, I am Goraz, a mighty warrior and I will-" the centaur was cut off by a blast of laser fire, frightening him enough to make him run away.

"Wretched creatures" Vortex muttered, lowering his arm with the weapon on it.

Blast Off shook his head and looked around. His sensors began picking up the vibrations of movement. Animals and other beings it appeared were moving away from where the great noise came from. He also noticed a slight tingly feeling on his armour. So far though it wasn't dangerous, just puzzling.

"Something is coming. That way" Vortex broke Blast Off away from the sensor sweep.

Hagrid's 'little' brother, Grawp, lumbered into view. The young runt of a giant was getting bigger, in fact had he grown another four months he may have had a chance to hold off the two Decepticons.

"I didn't know humanoids on this planet got this big" Blast Off cocked his head to one side, examining and scanning the giant.

"So far that I've noticed they don't" Vortex affirmed.

Grawp looked at the two machines in confusion. They were huge, bigger than anything he'd ever seen in his short life. This fact lead the young giant to a startling conclusion: they too must be giants like him.

"Haaa" he smiled and bounded forward.

Grawp honestly thought he'd found playmates and as such was very surprised and hurt when the taller of the two of them backhanded him across the face. He cried out in pain as he flew backwards into a tree, hitting his head.

"Be gone, stupid beast" Vortex hissed, raising his weapons threateningly.

"Owwie" Grawp looked at them with tear filled eyes, not comprehending what he had done wrong or who he was dealing with.

Both robots turned away, figuring the painful strike was enough to make it leave. Unfortunately for Grawp, the slap had broken his jaw and put him in immense pain, making him scream to get the attention of someone, anyone who could help him.

"Be silent worm, or you die!" Blast Off snarled, turning his own weapons the young giant.

Their voices and weapons only served to make Grawp wail louder, so loud that it was hurting the audio receptors of the two Decepticons. Vortex, being an interrogator had sensitive audios, nothing like Soundwave's but strong none the less and the noise was becoming painful.

"Shut him up would you?" Vortex groaned; his pain too severe to disable his audios.

Blast Off managed to shut his off and then strode toward Grawp and threw a vicious kick in his throat, causing the young Giant to start convulsing. Vortex, now suitably uncomfortable and angry, stomped over and knocked the struggling and whimpering creature onto its belly.

"I'll teach you to mess with me" Vortex growled.

Quick as a flash, Vortex brought up his foot and brought it down on Grawp's head, crushing it like a grape. He instantly regretted it when he saw his foot was now covered in blood and bone.

"SLAG" he cursed, shaking his foot.

"Oh for Primus' sake, let's go deeper in, the noise has bound to have brought someone here" Blast Off grabbed the cursing helicopter by his upper arm and dragged him deeper into the forest.


	8. Chapter 8

All the while murder and mayhem was happening in the forest, Harry was floating a few hundred feet above the ground, looking for the Golden Snitch. Curly and Gina had been keeping Ravenclaw very much on their toes. Ginny, Dean and Doug had scored goals almost every time they had the Quaffle. Ron still missed the occasional goal shot made by Ravenclaw, but no more than any other keeper might. Slytherin were still making a racket in the stands singing 'Weasley is our King' but for the most part, Ron appeared to be ignoring it.

'Come on, where are you?' Harry thought, eyes darting all over the place.

Suddenly a streak of gold flashed in the corner of Harry's eye. Following it by diving suddenly, Harry attracted the attention of Cho and Luna. Cho followed Harry as best she could.

"It appears that Potter has seen the Snitch and now both he and Chang are diving like Nargles for a Holly Bush" Luna said, garnering a look from McGonagall.

Cho and Harry were nearly neck and neck as they dived for the Snitch. Harry saw Cho clenching her teeth in concentration, her hand outstretched for the golden ball in front of them. They were getting dangerously close to the ground.

"And Chang pulls away from the Snitch…but Potter is still going for it and if he's not careful he's going go splat" Luna's voice sounded uncharacteristically worried.

Harry wasn't sure how he did what he did, but as far as he could remember he'd jumped forward, caught the Snitch and then pulled up. It seemed simple enough until he saw that he was a mere inch from the ground. This and his incident with the Quaffle in the change room had begun to worry him.

"Most of this started, after, I got the gun from Burnout, and…the nano chip" Harry muttered to himself as the crowd went ballistic.

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The rest of the day seemed a blur with a party that Harry was sure had run well into the night. Alcohol was consumed at some point; of this Harry was also sure. Girls got kissed (although not by him) and he was of a sneaking suspicion that at some time, someone (again not him) got lucky in one fashion or another. By the late Sunday morning, Harry was still awake.

'This is fucked up' he thought blearily as he surveyed the scene before him.

Harry himself sat in a chair; Ron and Hermione were taking up the space on one of the couches. Ginny and Dean occupied a rug near the fire. Their other team mates had retired to bed earlier than them. Seeing that he was the odd man out in this rare show of intimacy, intentionally so in the case of Ginny and Dean. Harry looked at his two best friends and had to chuckle.

'Baby steps I guess' he thought and got up, feeling his abused body crack and pop.

"Hagrid should be awake now, feeding the animals. Might go say hello" Harry muttered to himself and walked out of the common room, ignoring the Fat Lady's stern look.

Taking a swing by the kitchen to get one of the house elves to make him and Hagrid some bacon and egg rolls, Harry took his first steps into the crisp morning air. Hitting him with all the force of a slap in the face from Rally, Harry stood still a moment to get used to the temperature.

Once Harry was comfortable, he began jogging down towards Hagrid's hut. As he drew closer, Harry could see the door was open and that there were other people in the small hut. Closer still, Harry could hear Hagrid…sobbing?

"What the hell?" he said and gently knocked on the door.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" McGonagall asked, taking in his very wretched looking form.

"I was still awake so I thought I'd come and visit Hagrid and have breakfast with him" Harry said, putting down the bag with the food in it.

"Well, something, personal has befallen Hagrid at the moment so-" McGonagall was stopped by a large hand on her shoulder.

"It's a'right Professor, 'Arry knows about him" Hagrid's deep voice was racked from his crying.

"About who?" Harry's brain wasn't functioning at correct levels yet.

"Grawp, 'Arry…something killed him" Hagrid sniffed as he told the news.

The news made Harry's blood run so cold it may have killed the alcohol: Grawp was a giant, and there was nothing much in that forest that could kill him. Aragog could, or one of his children could well have bitten him. Then again, giant skin is reasonably tough stuff.

"How did he die?" Harry asked, walking over to give the gamekeeper a hug.

"He didn't die, Mr. Potter, he was murdered. In a fashion not unlike the larger of his kin" Professor Dumbledore, who had remained silent until this time, spoke up.

"Sir, may we speak outside?" Harry asked his headmaster.

"Of course, Hagrid, I'll see to it we give your brother a nice burial in the grounds" Dumbledore gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Thanks Professor" he said, and began eating one of the still warm rolls Harry had brought with him.

"Sir, please, tell me exactly how he died" Harry asked desperately.

"It was a most cruel manner, his head was hit with enough force to flatten it, what ever did that to Grawp, is much larger than he was" Dumbledore looked very sad.

Harry's blood ran colder than before, and it wasn't due to the weather. Grawp was young, although smaller than most giants and not terribly bright. That being said he wasn't stupid enough to passively take an assault or to seek confrontation. What ever killed him, it had to have been bigger than he was and with a vicious streak to match.

'Sounds enough like other giants to stop Hagrid getting suspicious, or anyone else for that matter' Harry thought, running a possibility through this head

"Sir, I have a theory, but for now I want to keep it between us, it concerns my new friends" Harry whispered to Dumbledore.

"I doubt that your new friends are capable of this, they are the same size as Grawp, one of them not much taller than Hagrid himself" Dumbledore seemed confused.

"No, but they mentioned their enemies, Decepticons I believe they're called, followed them here. It is possible, that they are involved. Rally said Megatron sent his best combat unit after them" Harry admitted.

"They did not tell me that when they told me their tale" Dumbledore looked a little upset.

"How dangerous are these, Decepticons?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know. Grawp is smart enough not to pick fights with anyone bigger than him, and if you're stern, he'll do what you say. Hell, he probably thought they were giants too and only wanted a friend…" Harry trailed off, a deep seated fear entering his stomach.

"We have one thing working our favour. There is precious little for them to use as a disguise in our world, so regardless if they are now disguised in their native forms or Muggle world ones, they must be hiding somewhere. I suspect in the forest itself" Dumbledore took all the information in and came up with a theory.

"Okay, can I go to Hogsmeade and talk to them about this? If they're in that forest, we're in danger and we will need their firepower to back us up if it turns nasty" Harry stood, swaying a little from the fire whisky still in his bloodstream.

"After I eat, and throw up" Harry muttered, sitting back down.

"Yes you may, I'll send you on a small errand for me while we're about it" Dumbledore produced a list from a pocket inside his robes.

"Professor?" Harry was confused.

"Just a replenishment for my lemon drops" the old Headmaster chuckled at Harry's alarmed face.

"Oh, right, well, I'll get my roll and be sit with Hagrid for a few minutes" Harry said and gently eased himself upwards and half walked and half stumbled to Hagrid's hut.

"Hey 'Arry" Hagrid was still sad but had calmed down enough.

"Hey Hagrid, listen, I've got to run an errand for Dumbledore but the shop isn't open for another couple of hours, care to share breakfast with me?" Harry asked, handing a bacon and egg roll to Hagrid.

"Thanks" Hagrid said, a small and grateful smile on his face.

Hagrid's roll was really a small round pumpernickel loaf cut in half. There were around three eggs and four rashers of prime bacon on it, the elves also seeing fit to add HP sauce and onions. Harry's was on white bread with no onions and tomato sauce, with one egg and half a rasher of bacon. McGonagall noticed this, a testament to how personal she found the conversation Harry and Hagrid were having.

"Thanks for breakfast 'Arry, I really appreciate it" Hagrid said, thoughtfully chewing the last bite.

"Its okay, I was wondering how you were and figured since I've been awake for nearly twenty four hours I could come and see you and have breakfast, Dobby was kind enough to throw this together for us" Harry said, taking a swig of water from a large tankard.

McGonagall took her leave, giving Hagrid a consoling hug and a very rare smile. Harry and Hagrid then killed the rest of the morning feeding the animals and organising for Grawp's grave to be dug at the edge of the forest near the hut. At around 9am, Harry took his leave to go and run the errand in Hogsmeade.

"I'll come see you later, Hagrid and I'll bring Ron and Hermione with me" he promised.

"Okay" the giant Gamekeeper said and waved Harry off.

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High above the grounds of Hogwarts behind a stealth shield, Blast Off was listening in on all the conversations that had taken place. He couldn't believe his luck: Autobots in the area. And he had a fair idea who it was too. For the moment, he decided that discretion was the better part of valour and refrained from following the boy, having observed some of the strange powers he had.

'Know thy enemy' he recalled the mantra of his leader, Onslaught.

Turning off his long range surveillance equipment, Blast Off dived towards the deeper area of the forest that he'd dragged Vortex, who had still been swearing a purple streak when they arrived deeper into the forest. The interrogation officer looked at his comrade sourly.

"Slaggit man, you dragging me nearly made my arm come loose" Vortex grumbled.

"What ever, listen, I think our target is around here somewhere. For the moment we lay low, we need to conserve our energy. In a couple of days we'll take a trip up to the mountains and setup some solar collectors for energy" Blast Off informed Vortex of his plan.

"It better work, without it we're in a whole pit of trouble" Vortex moaned, stretching his joints and lying down on a large rock.

'Sparkling' Blast Off thought with amusement, keeping watch.

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Hogsmeade train station was usually quiet on a Sunday morning, and this was no exception. There were no trains scheduled until at least three months and until then the train would remain unmoving.

'Well I say this is a jolly boring experience' he thought to himself.

Gauge was probably the strangest Autobot in existence, which included examples such as Red Alert and Backstreet. He was a tracking and extraction expert that had been sent by Optimus Prime himself to track down Rally and Drift.

'But I am getting rather bored and would adore a chance to stretch the legs. Oh well, never mind' Gauge thought and began doing puzzles in his head.

As he kept going at a particular puzzle that he'd been working on for a long time, close to five thousand years in fact, Gauge caught wind of a communication signal that seemed familiar. Carefully tapping in to it, he heard two voices. One seemed to belong to a human male, the other, was a…

'Rally!' Gauge thought with glee.

As he listened in on the conversation, it became clear that the discussion was that of a serious nature. The young man, identified as Harry was asking Rally about if it was possible that the Decepticons were near Hogwarts. It seemed that Rally thought there was a possibility of their mortal enemy being near this 'Hogwarts'.

"I'll communicate with them at evensong, until that time, PUZZLES" he muttered to himself.

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Harry sat in the small cottage, having a drink with Tonks. It was almost geeky but he couldn't stop looking at her. Tonks was in the middle of eating an apple and reading Witch Weekly while Harry waited for Burnout to come back from what ever he was doing.

"What?" Tonks asked, looking behind her.

"Sorry I'm new to the whole dating thing, and I'm resigned to the fact that you're beautiful" Harry had decided to try a new tactic of honesty.

"With charm like that, I find that very hard to believe" she had to smile at Harry's nervousness.

Harry was however genuinely at a loss. His interactions with Hermione were easy since there was no underlying romantic notions, and he'd known her since she was 11 and they'd done battle together. However, Tonks was different, she was almost unknown to him and yet something had clicked between them.

"Well like I said, new to the game coach" Harry smiled and took a swig of OJ from the jug.

"He hey hey, rule one of my kitchen, all juices from a glass" she conjured a tumbler and slid it over the bench.

Harry caught the glass as Burnout came into the house from the garage, clearly he was back. He stood and watched them for a few moments: his medical scanner was tracing the pheromones they were sending at each other, a rough translation of which would read as deep affection. His other scanners could also pick up their energy, that miraculous aura that he'd seen around them. It was an intimacy he'd not seen in a very long time.

"Harry" Burnout's Irish electronic voice carried over the kitchen, causing both of them to look up.

"Hey, Burnout. I've been waiting to speak with you on something, did Rally call you?" he asked.

"She did, which brings me to my next point. I'm going to go hunting in those woods. Now I don't give a rat's arse how you do it, but keep everyone out of there" Burnout quickly rattled off the plan.

"You understand that what ever it was, if it was a Decepticon, was able to step on the head of a sixteen foot tall giant's head. So it must be larger than you" Tonks, who had been privy to the whole conversation.

"I'm a surgeon, Tonks, I've scanned you once and I can already I know about fifty different ways to kill you with a microwave emitter. I'll be fine. I'll slip in tonight when the kids go beddy bye" he grumbled away.

"Okay, whatever works" Tonks agreed, also saying it was probably about time she made a move to get back to her Auror duties.

Harry tried not to let his disappointment show when he heard her say that. He failed somewhat miserably in doing so. Tonks saw Harry's face fall and reached over and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Don't go getting separation anxiety on me, you're far cooler than that" Tonks said, checking her bags that were in the hallway.

"Wait, its just occurred to me: won't the Order be wondering where the hell you've been for the past month?" Harry suddenly stopped and wondered what the cover was going to be.

"There was a variation on the truth at one of the meetings. They know I was stabbed and they know I'm recovering here. Certain specifics were hidden from them" she said, nodding her head to the Transformer in the room.

"Okay" there was a strange silence in the room after Harry spoke.

"Oh for Pit sake. Harry, Tonks has let you stick your tongue down her throat, gently admittedly, so I don't think she'll mind if you hug her. Tonks please understand that Harry is a somewhat insecure young man. Now stop being stupid, hug and temporarily part ways would you" Burnout was in the lab area now.

"Well, that was the strangest piece of encouragement I think I've ever gotten" Tonks said, chuckling.

Harry also smiled but this time took a more confident stride towards Tonks and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Smiling gently Tonks returned the hug.

"I'll catch ya later" Tonks said, picking up her bag and Apparating.

"Harry, I got an idea I want to run past you. Sit down" Burnout was cleaning his hands with a rag.

"I gotta get back to school, Burnout, its getting late into the morning" Harry said, feeling a little nervous.

"This won't take a tick, pull up a pew" Burnout was leaning against the wall.

"No doubt you've noticed over the past few days that physically, you're getting better. Reflex speed is up, strength is getting better too" he said, rubbing his chin.

"Yes, how did you…of course, the nano chip" Harry said, staring at him.

"A side affect I think, it didn't do the same thing to Tonks. My guess is because you're slightly undernourished and other stuff. The chip is primarily a transmitter, but in our position, we like everything able to fix itself where possible" he continued to explain, checking some readouts.

"If you have a point, make it" Harry said angrily.

"The chip was a self replicating unit, using dead cell tissue to reconstitute and create other chips. My readouts say there are about two million now, in your body. Most of them in the brain. I have a proposal" he finished and looked directly at the young man.

"I'm listening, but only listening at this point" Harry poured himself a glass of juice.

"I can painlessly remove the nano bots, put a singular chip in and no harm no foul, to a point. Or I can do a remove and replace operation" he said.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling engaged.

"You, apparently have a destiny. To kill Voldemort. No on can apparently divert that, it's him or you, man to man. That doesn't prohibit me from using every single dirty trick and performance enhancement on you that I have picked up in the past few million years" Burnout basically laid it out.

"You're talking about, changing me?" Harry asked.

"Not outwardly. But using those nano bots, I could close your synaptic gaps, increase the strength of your muscle fibres, the endurance of every system in your body. Consider it, thinking goes at the speed of light, you could crush a cube of solid titanium in your hand. Make it so you could run for fifty miles before sweating. Hell, unless you want them for the intellectual look, we can fix those eyes of yours. And one other thing" he paused to allow the offer to sink in.

"You can actually _add_ to that list?" Harry's jaw stayed open, a flycatcher of a thing if ever there was one.

"A battle computer. Every Transformer has one, usually specific to their function. I could give you one; get Tonks and all the others to give me incantations, wand movements and all that. Unarmed combat, marksmanship, guerrilla tactics, interrogation, field medicine, you name it, I can load it on that" by now Burnout was sitting opposite Harry, looking him in the eye.

"Why are you asking me if I want this?" Harry was suspicious.

"You've got responsibilities that should be above you, beyond you. Even half of what you've done shouldn't have entered your radar, but it did, and you've responded like Prime himself. I have no problems asking you if you want a leg up on beating a racist sociopath with a hard on for murder and terrorism into dust" he finished and looked back at the young man.

"I'll…give that consideration. I gotta go" Harry, feeling very overwhelmed and even scared, got up to leave.

"One other thing. You'd have to give up that game you play. To say nothing of the unfair level of play your enhancements would provide…it would eventually raise questions, questions neither of us want to answer" he added, as Harry left the room.

"You don't mince words do you?" Harry said, squeezing the doorframe.

"With you, I'd consider that kind of speaking an insult to your intelligence" the Irish Transformer finished and walked into the lab he had out the back.

Harry waited until he was sure Burnout was out of sight and started to jog back to Hogwarts, it soon turned into a run and by the time he reached the Hogwarts gates, it was a full sprint. Harry noted, with some trepidation that he wasn't as tired as he thought he should be.

"I hope I never have to answer that question" Harry muttered, heading to Dumbledore's office to deliver the sweets and the news.


	9. Chapter 9

Making his way as casually as possible onto the grounds, Harry made sure he had Dumbledore's lemon drops as an excuse. No one stopped him; a couple of the other students shouted more congratulations and admiration for the way in which he helped win the Quidditch game.

'I think I might have to drop out unless Burnout was serious about removing the nano bots' Harry though as he spoke the password.

"Collywobbles" he felt so ridiculous saying it.

The phoenix statue moved and twisted to reveal a staircase that Harry was honestly getting sick of climbing: every time he had to, it was either bad news personally or academically.

"Ah Harry, there you are. Do you have my lemon drops?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes sir, they're here" Harry handed the bag over, slumping into a chair in Dumbledore's office.

"I take it you also spoke with our mutual friends?" Dumbledore took a sweet from the bag and popped it into his mouth, offering a second to Harry.

"Yeah, Burnout is going to go searching in the forest tonight after we've all gone to bed. Best tell Hagrid to not go in there tonight, give him the night off or something" Harry relayed the message.

"Okay, that sounds amicable. However, I know you well enough to say that I don't believe that is all that is on your mind" Dumbledore poured a cup of water for Harry, gently pushed the brass goblet across his desk.

"Something that Burnout said, he…I don't know. I think I'll talk it over with Tonks or something, but thanks for caring enough to ask" Harry said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, something he'd been told Optimus Prime did as well.

"I may make mistakes, Harry or seem aloof at times. But I care for you, I care for all these students, even the ones who do not see the world as you or I do" Dumbledore leaned forward and gave Harry a consoling squeeze on the shoulder.

"Thank you, now I need to go and get Hermione and Ron, I promised Hagrid I'd take them down to see him today" Harry smiled and rose from the chair, sighing as he did.

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Tonks looked at it with a feeling of dread she'd not known since her first day of active Auror service. Lumbering, unfeeling and menacing with an unnatural sheen of yellow about it.

"Damn paper work" she snarled, attacking the pile.

In the month or so since she'd been on medical downtime, Tonks' paperwork had back logged itself to a pile so large, they'd had to enchant her inbox to simple extend downwards when a new stack was added.

"Oh I will spend another month doing this crap. Kingsly you bastard, I'll get you for this" she hollered out her door and down at her immediate superior.

"Yes I'm sure you will Tonks" the big man shouted back in his amused baritone.

Grumbling, Tonks shut her door and locked it. She then set about organising the work as best she could, taking care of easier stuff first. Mainly follow ups on old cases and interdepartmental information requests. Then there came the more in depth reports: interrogation reports, statements from captured Death Eaters.

'The more I read, the more I feel that Harry should have nothing to do with these crazy, crazy people' she mused, going over the details of the rants of a Death Eater.

"Fucking cancer of the common sense; that's all these buggers suffer from, not the Imperious Curse" she muttered, filing away the report.

"Well I see my favourite Pink girl has returned" an oily voice from the door, recently unlocked by the smarmy figure.

"Piss off Stephen, I'm busy and I have no desire to lower my IQ by talking with a monkey" Tonks didn't even look up from her filing cabinet.

"Oh you wound me" he said, ignoring her sarcasm.

"My heart bleeds for your injury, now get lost please" Tonks was rubbing her head, wishing she had her gun.

"You totally want to sleep with me" he chuckled and walked away.

'Urge to kill, rising…' Tonks thought gritting her teeth.

Stephen Calwell was the single most irritating, pig headed misogynist that Tonks had ever met. He hit on lots of the women in the Ministry, especially the Aurors. He seemed to have some kind of tally going on or something absurd like that. It seemed he believed Tonks would be the jewel in his crown: one of the youngest woman Aurors ever, a Metamorphungus and well connected too…the only problem with Stephen's plan was that Tonks' bullshit detectors were as finely honed as Rally's cornering skills.

"Tonks, got an easy one for you, want you to take a probationer out to see about some silly old coot's hedges eating the neighbourhood cats" an Auror named Moseman stuck his head in, a sickly green looking young man at his side.

"Wonderful. Okay, the old fart is probably jealous cos the only thing eating pussy at his house is the fucking front yard" Tonks giggled at her own joke.

"Just don't scare the probationer, Tonks, we're running low enough of Aurors as it is already" Moseman muttered, leaving the young man to his fate.

"Okay kid, what's your name?" Tonks asked.

"Dennis Shore" the young man replied, gulping at this confident and attractive young woman.

"Dennis, I'm Tonks. It's my last name legally, but as far as you or anyone else in this building is concerned it's my only name. I have deep hatred for my first name" she said, walking along the corridor towards the exit and Apparation point.

"You're parents not like you or something?" he asked, hoping it humorous enough to break the ice.

"Well, mum did say that giving birth was the single most painful experience she's ever gone through. Perhaps it was just a very patient and subtle form of revenge" Tonks conceded.

"You scared kid?" she asked suddenly, looking at him seriously.

"Truth?" he asked.

"Preferably" Tonks replied smoothly.

"Bloody well shitting meself" he admitted.

"Okay, you've just taken a very big step ahead of some of the stupid macho twat brains that somehow manage to get here" she said, pressing the elevator button.

"How, by admitting I'm scared to do my job?" he asked, surprised.

"Fears need to be conquered; you can't conquer something you don't acknowledge, can you" she said, smiling at him.

"Guess not" Dennis smiled.

"Good, here we go" Tonks took a purposeful and proud step out of the elevator…only to trip over a dropped piece of paper.

"Good morning Tonks, did you have a nice trip?" Albert the guard asked, looking over his reading glasses.

"Very funny Albert, smart arse bastard" she grumbled as she stood back up.

"I really should move that piece of paper…nah, you'd trip anyway" Albert muttered from behind his paper.

"Miserable old bugger" Tonks muttered, storming forwards.

"Don't worry young'an, she may seem a little clumsy but she's a good heart, a good head and a fantastic left hook. Stick by her, learn from her, you'll scarcely go wrong" Albert said to Dennis once Tonks was out of earshot.

"Thanks, I will" Dennis thanked the man and jogged after his guide.

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The trip out to the suburb where the cat eating bushes were was an uneventful one. Tonks and Dennis spoke of unimportant things, music and films since it turns out that Dennis was also a Muggle born Wizard.

"What made you want to join the Aurors?" Tonks asked as they knocked on the door.

"Well before I found out I was a Wizard, I wanted to join the Met, but I figured since I'd be going to Hogwarts that catch up on Muggle schooling would be too hard and I'd be too tempted to use magic against Muggle criminals" he explained with a grin.

"Wouldn't blame you, TV shows with police are enough to give me the chills" Tonks said as a grumpy looking old man answered the door.

"About bloody time, in my day when you floo'd the Aurors they arrived promptly" he snapped at Tonks, making Dennis flinch.

"Good afternoon sir, my name is Tonks and the young man beside is Dennis, I understand the bushes out front here have been eating the cats around the place?" Tonks ignored his attitude and got to the point.

"Damn right they are missy, and I reckon it was that bloody idiot next door, always hated me he has" the old man snarled.

"I see, well, Dennis how about you start examining the bushes while I speak to the neighbour" Tonks decided not to deal with their plaintiff much this time.

Tonks noticed that Dennis was very cautious with the bush: a good start, if it tried to attack him it wouldn't be to hard to move out of the way. Walking past him Tonks could hear the various diagnostic spells he was using. This show of brains got a smile from her, directed at Dennis.

'Jeez, she is sexy' Dennis was momentarily distracted by the smile brighter than a thousand suns.

Tonks banged on the neighbour's door with little ceremony, praying it was a real off his rocker of a wizard so she'd have an excuse to curse someone. The door was flung off and a man as old if not older than the complaining one next door appeared.

"Two hours, that's the longest he's ever taken to call your mob. Come on in then dear, have a cuppa" he said with a noticeably resigned tone of voice.

"With due respect sir, I'd rather not. May I have your name please?" Tonks asked gently.

"William, William Turnkey. I was an Auror like you once. Lots of years back now though, there's your tea darling so help yourself to a ginger snap" William muttered, mixing his coffee with some special import.

"I've heard of you: one of the best interrogators in the history of British Aurors. A few of your papers are required reading at the Ministry" Tonks suddenly recognised the man.

"Are they indeed? Well, I won't be modest and say I'm unhappy, I'm pretty bloody happy in fact. So, what's the charge then?" William asked, taking a seat.

"The illegal charming of an object, you're lucky the person next door is a wizard. Pretty sure the fine is five Galleons" Tonks took out a special pad of paper and wrote up the fine and the offence and the name of the offender.

"Well, thank you young lady, I'll drop by this afternoon and pay that. Say hello to Director Bones for me" he said, taking a small bottle of scotch to add to his tea.

Tonks smiled sadly and left the house of one of the only Aurors to be as famous as Mad Eye. Her melancholy mood quickly dissipated when she caught sight of Dennis, covered in leaves and cat fur. It was too much for Tonks who burst out laughing at the sheer oddness of it.

"The bush has been cleansed" he said with a flat voice.

"Okay, let's head back to the office and introduce you to the worst part of an Auror's job…paperwork" Tonks threw an arm around his shoulder in a genial fashion.

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"Merlin, you weren't joking were you?" Dennis said as he waded through the ten page document he had to fill out for what had been a fifteen minute job at most.

"Nope, checks and balances my young amigo, keeping it all above board and on the level as the Muggles say" Tonks was filling in an evaluation about Dennis.

There was amiable silence between them as they worked, the only sounds being the scratch of quill on parchment and the occasional mutter of an erasure spell. All the time, Dennis kept stealing quick looks at Tonks, wondering if she had a boyfriend or anything.

"Well, my reports are done. Dennis, here is the evaluation for your training leader on how you went today. Do not open it" Tonks said with a smile.

"Sure, thanks Tonks. See you around?" he said, looking hopeful.

"I think you will" she answered and got up, her stomach growling.

"Hungry I take it" he said with a chuckle.

"Wow, how ever did you work that out Sherlock?" Tonks asked sarcastically and left her office, muttering.

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The Auror Mess was a loud and jovial place: often you could hear laughter and the occasional splat from thrown food. Tonks instinctively ducked as she entered, sure enough, a pie hit the wall behind her.

'Like clockwork' she thought, heading over to a table where Moseman and Kingsley sat.

"Good afternoon Tonks. How was your time out with the newbie?" Moseman asked, smiling.

"Fine thank you, he did pretty well actually. And I got to meet William Turnkey, that Auror who wrote a bunch of papers years back" she said, ordering a chicken salad.

"Old William, bloody hell, how's he keeping?" Moseman asked, pushing his soup away.

"He seemed okay, but a little sad too. Why did he leave the Aurors anyway?" Tonks asked, thanking the house elf for the salad.

"Turnkey did his job, reported a senior Auror for abusing a female prisoner. She was a Death Eater I think, but Turnkey turned over the senior officer anyway. He did his duty to uphold the law" Moseman angrily drank his water.

"After that, no one wanted to know him, figured him for a grass. In the end he transferred to the Training Academy to teach for a few years, then took his retirement and his pension and got the hell out" Moseman looked sombrely at his two younger friends.

"Who was the senior Auror he reported?" Kingsley asked, his deep voice tinged with regret.

"I don't actually remember, he got the sack instantly since Turnkey swore on his magic on what he saw, I think his name Laurence or something. Anyway, I've a small forest's worth of paperwork to fill out" Moseman nodded to them both and got up, leaving the Mess.

Tonks sat in angry silence for most of her lunch break, eating her salad in an almost animalistic way. She even snarled occasionally. Kingsley sat, merely looking perturbed and disappointed.

"It's bad isn't it; Shack? We're fighting the good fight and all that bollocks and yet…" she trailed off, looking lost.

"Yet when someone does the right thing, regardless of what he'd be up against, he's punished and not rewarded. Yes Tonks, it's bad. The only shining light is that now you know, you can fight to change it" Kingsley got up, his soup all but forgotten and left also.

'I feel ill. I'm going home' Tonks saw that it was nearly her knock off time anyway.

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After packing her most important and urgent paperwork into a folder and her bag, Tonks apparated home. Her flat was in central London, and charmed to basically soundproof itself against the loudness of the city. The furnishings were a mix of Muggle and magical.

"Let's see what's new in the world" she muttered and flicked her TV on.

The volume was loud enough for the TV to be heard anywhere in the house, allowing Tonks to go to her bedroom and get changed out of her Auror robes and into a more relaxing set of clothes. Consisting wholly of a shirt and some pants and nothing else.

Tonks took a look around her flat: posters of the Weird Sisters and photos of her family and friends adoring her walls. Lots of heavy wooden furniture with big cushions and a stone fireplace, the wood furniture was durable and thanks to her clumsiness, was requirement for her. Thick carpets also adorned the rooms, mainly so when she tripped, they'd absorb the fall.

"Ah, it's good to be home" she groaned, sinking into a chair, a glass of Ogden's Finest in her hand.

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Harry was sitting Hagrid's hut, Ron and Hermione hugging Hagrid and consoling him over the apparent murder of his brother, Grawp. Hermione and Ron also believed that the cause of death was another giant and Harry was in no rush to correct them.

"Hagrid, I'm so sorry to hear about that" Hermione rubbed his shoulder affectionately.

"Thanks 'Ermione" he said, smiling sadly back at her.

Most of the day was spent that way: consoling Hagrid. Harry remained very quiet, occasionally nodding and smiling at Hagrid's words, having said enough to him this morning and since he knew more than Hagrid about Grawp's death, he figured it was best to stay quiet.

'He's gonna go check tonight, man I hope it is another stray giant' Harry thought, watching as Hagrid and Ron heft the stone marker up for Hermione to etch with an epitaph.

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A strange three-vehicle motorcade was making its way down the motorway towards Scotland. A jeep with a mounted rocket launcher, a flatbed with mounted mortar canons and a Challenger II tank. The group were travelling along at around forty miles per hour; the fastest Brawl was able to travel.

"This is ridiculous, Brawl we're going to take a long time to reach our destination, because of you" Swindle groaned, easily coasting at the speed.

"Frag off, Swindle you arrogant aft kisser" Brawl snarled, trying to bring his canon to bear.

"You two stop arguing, it is beginning to annoy me" Onslaught muttered, feeling very tired of their bickering.

"Well I'm sorry but this speed we're travelling at is ridiculous" Swindle countered.

The sun had gone down by the time they found somewhere to pull over. After checking for passing cars, Swindle transformed and placed cloaking nodes around them. Once activated, Brawl and Onslaught also transformed.

"Both of you cut it out. I grow tired of your arguing. We have a mission, and I expect you both to suck it up and get your afts in gear, is that understood?" Onslaught grabbed them both by the shoulders and shoved them against a tree.

"Blast Off and Vortex aren't terribly bright and you know it; they could get discovered and then we're slagged" Brawl snarled.

"Vortex is glitched, I agree, but Blast Off is not, so both of you shut the Pit up" Onslaught could not fathom why they were being so annoying

Then it dawned on him.

"You're both worried about them aren't you?" he asked, stepping back.

Brawl said nothing, merely content to hit the tree that he was leaning against. Swindle sent a shimmer across his optics, his version of rolling his eyes. Onslaught lost some of his anger.

"As Decepticons we must be strong, petty emotions will be the end of us. However we have fought together, served prison together. Through it all we rely on only each other. Now that metal and resolve is tested. Will we fail?" he asked.

"No SIR!" Brawl and Swindle felt ennobled by their leader's words.

"Oh Merlin" a voice suddenly brought the three robots back to reality.

They looked and saw a man dressed in a black robe with a silly hat and mask. He held in his hand a stick that upon scanning turned up a few strange results. Brawl, thinking the man no threat, advanced forward while raising an arm to strike.

"Stupefy!" the man yelled, pointing the stick at Brawl's arm.

The red jet of light and energy hit Brawl's arm and immediately, he stopped moving. He tried to flex his arm, but found he could not. It was like every circuit and servo was locked up.

"What the Pit?" he muttered, running and internal diagnostic: they had indeed crashed.

"Brawl, what happened?" Onslaught asked.

"My internal diagnostic indicates that my whole left arm has seized up. Internal repairs are working it, though it will take a few breems" he muttered.

"You, fleshling, undo what you have done or die" Onslaught demanded, raising his proton rifle.

"First I demand to know what stupid Muggles sent you here" he hissed, waving the stick threateningly.

"What is a Muggle?" Swindle asked, more confounded than anything else.

"Non magical people" the man spat.

"He thinks the fleshlings on this planet made us. You deluded creature" Brawl had been uncharacteristically quiet despite being attacked.

The internal repairs were repaired quicker than he thought. But he played up the injury anyway. Brawl was a Decepticon who preferred the guns blazing approach; that was just how he was. However, he didn't remain on Onslaught's team without learning some more, subtle tactics. And coming from a mech as infamous for blunt force trauma attacks, his more surgical approach caught many a smarter mech off guard.

'Wait for it, wait for it' he thought, switching his arm guns from human ammunition to the plasma pulse he had on Cybertron.

'Now' he quickly brought his arm down and fired at the man, who'd been so busy shouting at Onslaught, he didn't see Brawl move until it was too late.

The superheated energy bolts tore their mysterious assailant to shreds fast than he could speak to defend himself. The bolts hit the ground and caused dirt and rocks to spit up at them.

"I must say Brawl, when you use that more subtle part of your tactics computer, you do come up with some good results" Onslaught nodded in approval.

"Let's just be on our way shall we" he grumbled, transforming again.

With a nod, Onslaught transformed too. As before, Swindle retrieved the cloaking nodes and replaced them in a small container on Onslaught's tray. Transforming to jeep mode himself, Swindle went first, followed by Onslaught and Brawl back onto the motorway. Destination, Scotland.


	10. Chapter 10

Night had fallen on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The children were all safely tucked up in bed and Hagrid was on a bit of leave after the small service they'd held for Grawp. As Harry had requested, no one was near the forest.

'Okay, let's see if my instinct is correct' Burnout thought, approaching the edge of the forest.

Burnout transformed into robot mode, scanning the outer rim area he was near. He picked up faint signals and trace elements of Energon. Cybertronians were here, of that he was sure. Although there was not enough for him to determine whom it was. Using a stealth shield he borrowed from Drift, Burnout became invisible and entered the forest.

'Following the scent, Primus even Bluestreak could follow this trail' Burnout thought this was too easy.

However Burnout was able to stop following the Energon trail when he heard irritated voices and one that sounded just a bit, afraid. Limberly jumping over rocks and tree trunks, Burnout came across a sight that looked comical to him.

There were several dead spiders that were larger than normal around them. In the centre of it all, sat Vortex and Blast Off, covered in webbing. Burnout could now see why Vortex had sounded troubled: his rotor blades were all stuck and couldn't move. And it also appeared that Blast Off's hands were stuck inside the rotor assembly as if trying to pick the webbing out.

"Oh come off it, Blast Off, we look stupid and yo know it" Vortex whined.

"Shut up you Pit Spawned rust stain" Blast Off muttered, trying to pull his hands free from the back.

"Well, well, well. This is a most interesting predicament you both find yourselves in" Burnout said, uncloaking himself to the two Decepticons.

"Well, our target has presented himself to us; we are unfortunately very busy at the moment" Blast Off suddenly tripped back, his bound feet not allowing him to stabilise himself.

The grip it turned out created by the webbing and Blast Off's own strength and bulk was stronger than what held the rotors to Vortex's back in robot mode. The fall causing the rotor assembly to be ripped off Vortex's back and Blast Off to fall and damage his knees.

"OW, SLAG. WHAT THE PIT?" Vortex was in agony.

"Interesting, you both seem to need a surgeon. Here I stand and not really inclined to do a damn thing" Burnout walked casually around them.

"For Primus sake, help us, you're a surgeon" Blast Off hissed.

"You know well and good what I am. And in the very nature of your oily brother, I will offer you an agreement" he looked at them both, green optics glowing.

"State your terms" Blast Off said, hating to hear Vortex's agony.

"I will repair you both, and in exchange I want two things. The first, is I want you not to report my location to your comrades. The second, is if I ask it of you, you will perform any one task I designate" he explained.

"SOLD" Vortex yelled, all the while punching a log to divert his pain impulses.

Burnout looked at Blast Off, wanting his agreement too. Blast Off nodded. Letting out some air of his hydraulics and groaning, Burnout made his way over to Vortex. While Blast Off was able to switch off his pain since it was minor, Vortex's damage was severe and dangerous to block, indeed the pain was probably the only thing keeping him online.

"Okay, this may take a while Vortex, and I don't have much in way of raw materials" Burnout muttered, inserting a probe to a small outlet on the side of the helicopter's neck.

Vortex went limp almost immediately. He was in stasis lock; he could be worked on with little trouble like that. Then he went over to Blast Off and used a heat gun to melt the webbing so he could retrieve the rotor assembly and blades as well.

"How are you planning on getting raw metals? There is none for miles in this cursed land" Blast Off asked.

Burnout said nothing but walked over to one of the dead spiders. He then injected it with a hypodermic syringe. Blast Off watched in part fascination and part horror as the spider's flesh was slowly but surely eaten away and replaced by sheet metal.

"These self reproducing nano bots are amazing. They consume the dead cells and produce what ever I program into them as a waste product: in this case, Cybertanium alloy" he knelt down and cut of a piece and threw it to his patient.

"Now do we have an agreement?" he asked, staring straight at Blast Off.

"Yes, yes we do" Blast Off muttered, genuinely affirming the idea.

Burnout spent two hours gently extracting and reattaching Vortex's rotor assembly and blades. The internal wiring alone was a nightmare at the best of times in a surgery but in the field, well, Blast Off learnt that sailors held no lamp to doctors in the colourful language subroutine. Once he was double sure that Vortex would be ok, Burnout brought him out of stasis lock.

"Oh slag, I feel as if I got stomped on by Trypticon, but I've no longer got searing pain in my back and hand" he noted.

"Good. Now, Blast Off, lets take a look at those knees of yours" Burnout moved over to Blast Off, motioning to Vortex.

"Vortex, lift him up would you" Burnout asked.

"Okie Dokie" the somewhat happier interrogation expert said.

Using Vortex as a leaning post, Blast Off stood up and let Burnout repair the damage to his knees. After a bit of testing they were both up and running. Burnout half expected them to turn on him: he was right, as soon as they were able the both dove for him. He nimbly jumped up and avoided them and then pressed a button on his forearm. As soon as he did that, both of the larger Transformers stopped moving.

"As I said before, you know very well what I am. You were stupid enough to let me work on you" he said, enjoying how foolish both of them looked.

"You devious glitch" Blast Off muttered.

"Now I want an Oath from both of you: you will not reveal that I am here, and that you owe me a favour. Got it?" he snarled.

"You have our oath" the replied in unison.

"Good" Burnout released them from their immobility and turned back on his stealth shield.

As he left the forest, Burnout considered his position: he'd helped them and extracted a favour from them. They knew that as long as they made no active moves against the humans or other Autobots then in turn they'd be left alone: after all, the planet they were on had no quarrel with Cybertron and it would not endear them any to the humans if they brought their war here.

'The sun's coming up' he noted as he reached the edge of the forest again.

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Rally and Drift were bored, really, really bored. In a way the peace of this planet was a little unusual to them, having known war and death all their life. Not that there wasn't war going on here, from what their intercepted audio visual transmissions told about this planet was that war was plentiful on this planet, just isolated rather than global.

"Hey Rally, wanna go for a drive down to a city?" Drift asked his sister in a dull tone.

"Sure, you know where one is?" she replied sarcastically.

"I will in a minute" he muttered, walking over to a console.

In the months and days they'd been here, with Dumbledore and Tonks' help they'd managed to construct a small computer terminal with satellite uplink equipment. Though Earth's own satellite communication network was small, it was enough for them to plot their trips using Taggart's Crossing as a starting point.

"I can now see why Long Barrel was leader of the battalion" Rally smirked as her brother was frustrated by human technology.

"Ha ha slagging ha, Rally. Now lets see, using that town as our guide…there we go" he said proudly, pointing the map.

"Glasgow huh, fair enough" she said, heading to the door and transforming to car mode.

'Pesky wrench' he thought, downloading the directions to his navigational computer.

Transforming and bolting out of the door to catch up and eventually lead his sister, Drift relished the actual roads they were using. Smooth tarmac felt good after the abusive cobblestones of Hogsmeade. The sun was up and warm on their alt modes, holographic drivers created for reasons of stealth.

"Think Burnout will be slagged off that we left without him?" Rally asked, smirking at the sun.

"Nah, miserable old clanger wouldn't come anyway" Drift dismissed his sister's concerns.

They drove for almost five hours, hitting top speed on all the roads, using signal scramblers to confuse speed cameras and other anti speeding devices. They soon arrived in Glasgow, the night just beginning. There were young people out and about, al the fancy cars making their appearances. Rally and Drift were given very appreciative looks as they made their way around.

"We're smoking" Drift observed as they pulled to a stop, setting their hologram projectors to the maximum hard light range.

"Smoother than the Tritanum Fields. Lets rock and roll bro" Rally smirked, generating a new, more revealing outfit.

"Oh man, don't be doing that madness" Drift pleaded, already seeing the human males and a few females give his sister an appraising look.

Their hologram maximum range for soft light was over a mile, hard light was about one hundred yards. They'd managed to find parks outside a club so they were able to enter. After paying in printed money they'd made at base, they entered the club. It was more of a pub really: lots of wooden furniture and leather. Stain and polish adorning every surface and a smell of beer.

"Reminds me of the Two Moon Tavern on Praxis" Drift said, ordering a beer.

Since they were hard light holograms, they were able to make the appearance of drinking the alcohol but would not get drunk. While Drift made his way to the dance floor, Rally spied the last person she expected to find here.

Remus Lupin sat in the pub, on a corner table, drinking what appeared to be Guinness out of a pint glass. Rally recognised him, and most members of the Order of the Phoenix thanks to a few photographs of Tonks and Harry's, just as a precaution.

'He looks lonely. A bit of company is in order I think' she though, buying two pints of the Irish beer.

Walking gently over to his table she placed one of the glasses in front of him, making Remus look up in surprise. Rally gifted him with a small smile; she understood the look he had on his face.

"Penny for those thoughts of yours?" she asked softly, sitting down across from him.

"Just a few decisions to make, the hard kind. The kind that probably shouldn't be decided with this" he held up the glass to emphasis his point.

"Perhaps, you look a man torn. Gotta name, handsome?" she asked, smiling a little brighter.

'Who is this woman?' Remus thought, gingerly sipping the beer she gave him.

"Remus is my name, what about you?" he asked back, throwing caution to the wind.

"Raelene, but my friends call me Rally" she buried the truth inside of a lie.

"Well, which one do I use?" he asked, feeling more at ease.

"Since you look like you need a friend, you're more than welcome to use Rally" she replied, drinking her beer and winking over the glass at him.

Remus considered the woman in front of him. She was as tall as he was with bright blue eyes and Mediterranean looks about her, skin the colour of caramel. But he also saw a tough, muscular body that was both inspiring and desirable.

"I don't get it, young women for some reason find me attractive and I'm damned if I know why" Remus suddenly blurted out.

"What makes you think I'm young?" Rally felt her spark get a little warmer: he was a sweet man, if a little self-effacing.

"Well there was this young woman who had a small interest in me, but I think that has waned a bit. And now there's you" he said, blushing a little.

"I'm older than I look, Remus, I'm a solider" Rally again hid the truth in a deception.

"A solider huh, you ever been in combat? Or are you a new recruit?" Remus found himself a little intrigued.

"I've been around, see this scar, shrapnel mines" Rally pointed to a small scar she'd given her left forearm.

"And what is the story behind your scar?" she asked, pointing to a long one down his left cheek.

"An encounter with less than savoury people, but you should see the other guys" he said, marvelling at the easy banter he was having with this woman.

Drift watched from afar, slightly diverted from the two women he was charming with a curious eye. He knew that Remus Lupin was werewolf; a sickness that apparently caused what he saw as genetic mutation on the rays of the full moon. He also knew, from Harry's own theory that Remus wasn't sure of himself, nor thought himself deserving of love due to said disease; afraid he would hurt those he cared about.

'You won't hurt her, friend, not in a million years' he thought as he tuned his attention back to the two women.

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The night wore on; the beers were hearty and the songs loud. Remus had long since departed the pub, a promise of another meeting from Rally in hand. Drift and Rally spent the rest of their time on the dance floor. Once it hit 1:00am though, they thought it best to leave. Making like drunks the stumbled out of the pub and into their cars.

"Excuse me sir, ma'am. Are you planning on driving home tonight?" a policeman's thick accent hit their audio processors.

"Uhhhh, yeah" Drift said, making his hologram stumble into the car.

"I don't think so. Both of you step out of your cars please" his partner, a woman said as she produced a breathalyser.

With a quick glance, Rally and Drift turned over their engines and with perfect timing, sped out of the street. The police were now on their radios calling for a pursuit car. Not too soon after, it caught up with them.

"Well, this is one hell of a way to finish and evening" Drift muttered as they both skidded around a 45degree corner at about 45mph.

"Shut up and loose them, we need to hit some open road and turn the limiters off" Rally replied as her engine and turbo revved to their restricted maximum.

The turbocharged Ford Focus police car was gaining slowly until they hit some open motorway. Rally and Drift both then turned off their alt limiters used their Cybertronian powered engines to their true capacity. With a roar unheard of in any other kind of car, they sped away from the Scottish Police force.

"Sierra Bravo to Sierra Control, I don't know what the hell happened, but we lost them, they accelerated away from us, presume use of high powered engine modifications. Pass on their details to the surrounding areas" the pursuit driver had slowed and pulled over.

"Copy that, return to base" his central station responded.

'Those were some premier league toys, where the hell would they get tunning like that?' the Police Officer thought.

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Rally and Drift had changed their license plates to something else, and added some decals to the sides and bonnet of their car mode to avoid detection on the journey back to Hogsmeade. When the arrived, Burnout had not yet returned so they transformed and cleaned themselves up without incident.

'The perfect hack' they thought with glee as they settled down to their recharge berths.

Burnout entered to see his two compatriots in recharge on their berths. He shrugged, removing the stealth shield and placing it in a storage cabinet, along with other equipment and weapons. It had taken several weeks to get the computers up and running, copies of their operating systems held in auxiliary memory banks of their own. Help from Tonks and Dumbledore had provided the raw materials for their systems.

'We can start work on the refinery soon' he thought with pride.

His two companions came online soon after that and greeted him cordially. Burnout said nothing but swivelled in the chair he sat on and looked at them both with hard optics. They both asked what they had done. In answer to their question he activated a screen capable of receiving human television waves. On the screen came the visage of both Rally and Drift being chased by police vehicles.

"Would either of you care to explain this, or shall I let my imagination circuits run a little haywire with this?" he asked in a stony voice.

"Uhhh" Drift looked confused while Rally had the good sense to look abashed.

"You can't be that angry" she ventured.

"Really, well let's find out, Rally, let's see if I have it in me" he said, standing up and managing to make them both step back despite being about a third their height.

"YOU COULD HAVE GOT US BUSTED" he yelled at them, his Irish voice nearly breaking from the forced volume.

"But we didn't as we escaped" Drift replied, not quite getting it.

"You disabled your alt limiters. You went faster than any road based vehicle can conceivably go" he snapped.

"WHAT SLAGGING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?" Drift was still a bit tired and frankly angry that Burnout was curbing his fun.

"Because you fool, if we're intelligent enough to hack this stuff, what makes you think the Decepticons who're here won't either? Did you stop and consider that?" he looked at them both: they remained silent.

"Thought not" he muttered.

"Speaking of Decepticons, what was in that forest Harry sent you in to?" Drift asked.

"There were traces of Cybertronians, but I didn't find anyone there. My guess is they came, saw the humans and no technology and bailed at that point" Burnout lied, waving his hand and showing his irritation at them for their recklessness.

"Oh, any ideas who?" Rally was intrigued.

"Probably one of our erstwhile pursuers, I couldn't tell which ones though" again he lied.

"Oh, okay" Rally seemed defeated.

"Listen, the message needs sent out again. Can you do it because I need some slagging recharge" he asked with a grin.

"Sure, get rested" Rally said as Burnout walked towards the berth and lay down on it.

'Repeat the lie often enough, and it may as well be true' Burnout thought with a heavy spark and fell into a deep, troubled recharge.

Vortex and Blast Off kept a low profile for the next few weeks, eventually moving out of the forest to a more secure location in a mountain range area to allow them to use solar collectors to keep energised. This alleviated suspect happenings and night time wanders to the forest.

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Harry was in the Three Broomsticks, Hermione and Ron were getting the Butterbeers so that left Harry with Luna and Ginny, an uncomfortable position for him since he and Ginny hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other since the beginning of term and talking Luna could be tiring.

"So, enjoying your classes?" Harry ventured, trying to be civil.

"Fine thank you" Ginny replied, her tone flat.

'Wow, did it go down a few degrees in here or is it just me?' Harry wondered, wincing a little at her tone.

To his immense relief he was spared further silence by the return of Ron and Hermione with the drinks and snacks. Sighing in relief he reached for a drink and took a hearty swig. He looked out of the window and recalled a conversation he'd had with Tonks about a week and half ago.

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_Tonks and Harry lay on the large couch in the house in Hogsmeade that they'd hid her and the Autobots in. It was another Hogsmeade Weekend and Harry had arranged to meet her here and have a day with her. It had been a most interesting experience._

"_Something on your mind?" Tonks asked, planting a kiss on the back of Harry's neck._

"_Yeah. The day you left, Burnout made me an offer" he said, turning his head to face her._

"_What kind of offer, have I got competition?" Tonks giggled at her joke._

"_Very cute, but no. He offered to use Autobot technology to make me stronger" Harry then proceeded to explain what Burnout had offered._

"_Wow, that's, that's Merlin damned incredible" Tonks sat up and looked across the room, seeing Burnout mixing some chemicals for reasons unknown._

"_Yeah, yeah it is. I just don't think I'll do it. I mean it would be dangerous for one thing and I wouldn't be able to play Quidditch" Harry leaned up against her._

"_Well I won't say it's a bad offer. I can't imagine how much I could accomplish with those kinds of abilities" Tonks said, imagining herself as a superhero._

"_Yeah, guess it just seems too unreal for me to take the offer" Harry shrugged, squeezing Tonks' hand._

"_Well, unreal seems to be your state of being. Look at ya, sixteen with an older woman for a girlfriend, destined to destroy a Dark Lord and friends with aliens" Tonks whispered._

_Harry paid the words no heed but suddenly turned around pounced on Tonks, pinning her to the couch with a grin on his face. Tonks raised and eyebrow at him before Harry descended on her, giving her a passionate kiss that soon moved from her lips, soft as ever, to her jaw and neck. He gave the sensitive skin on her jaw and neck feather lite kisses and the occasional gentle nip. Tonks groaned and smiled._

"_Well fuck me, Harry, what have you been reading?" she asked as he gently ran his tongue over her throat._

"_The Hogwarts library is very extensive. Very, very extensive" he almost growled against the back of her ear._

"_Well I'm glad to see you taking some of your studies seriously" she giggled, trailing her fingers down Harry's stomach which made Harry giggle too._

"_Some studies are much more interesting. Especially since the practical applications are so, enjoyable" Harry hissed._

"_No bonding on the couch, you know the rules. I so much as hear a zipper, I'm coming in there with a hose" Burnout called, sensing the increase in pheromones, sweat and body heat._

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Harry was drawn from his reverie by being shaken lightly on the shoulder by Ron.

"Spacing out again mate?" he asked, smiling knowingly.

"Sorry, totally zoned out" Harry said, allowing a smile to grace his features.

"You look like you'd rather be in your dream land than with us" Hermione gave him a critical look.

Harry was about to refute it when he stopped: he would much rather be with Tonks right now. Ron and Hermione were starting to pay each other that special kind of attention that was typical of a fledgling relationship and he felt like a third wheel.

'That developed on the quiet' he mused.

"I just got, stuff, on my mind so if I'm a bit distant I'm sorry" he said.

Hermione shrugged and returned to her conversation with Ginny and Luna. Ron on the other hand, slid Harry a chip packet and gave him a huge smirk.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"I don't know what you mean" Harry said, innocuously drinking his Butterbeer.

"Whatever you say pal. Just let us meet her at some point, okay" Ron said, seeing no reason to press his friend.

Harry frowned at the ceiling; Ron's new powers of perception and deduction were strange and downright disconcerting. Still, to be fair it wasn't as if many things caused him to become a total space case in the company of his two closest friends. Turning his head to look at the window, Harry saw Draco Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

'Where the hell are they going?' he mused as he saw them enter the post office.

Draco had retrieved some kind of a package, what kind it was he could not say since it was still in a box. The three Slytherin boys disappeared around a corner, most likely to engage in troublemaking or to discover the origin or contents of Draco's package.

"Silly wankers" he muttered, taking a drink

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Draco, along with Tweedle Dee and Dweedle Dum just got something from the post office and disappeared down that alley way.

"That's not a good sign, with them at least" Ron said.

"Let's follow them" Ginny suggested.

"I'm with Ginny on this" Hermione said, looking around for support.

"I'm out" Harry got up and began walking to the bar.

"Harry, what if he's up to something dangerous?" Ginny asked.

"I don't care; it's his prerogative to be stupid and dangerous. Aurors can take care of it. Bail" Harry continued to the bar.

"Lost your Gryffindor courage, Harry?" Ginny sniped, earning her reproachful looks from the others.

"Nope, it's called being pragmatic, Ginerva. I put you all in unnecessary danger, I refuse to do so a second time. If you go charging into a fight, guns blazing, you'll only get fragged" Harry replied coolly, disappearing into the throng.

"Luna, Hermione. Could you please give me and my sister some privacy please" it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, sure, lets go find Harry shall we Luna" Hermione saw that there was things to be discussed between brother and sister.

Once they were gone, Ron took several breaths and a long swig of his Butterbeer. Then he placed both of his hands on the table and looked his sister directly in the eye.

"Ginny, this bullshit has to stop and it has to stop now" he said calmly, colour rising to his face.

"Excuse me Ron, since when did my behaviour become your business?" Ginny asked, clearly offended.

"If you and Harry have shit you need to work out, fine, find a quiet room and hash it out. Verbally, physically or sexually I don't give a rat's arse. But I'm jack of you two fighting all the time you're in the same room" Ron snapped.

"Well Harry needs a behavioural adjustment too. I was just worried about him and I made a legitimate point about Tonks and he jumps down my throat" Ginny was almost growling.

"Ginny, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I know this. I'm not a fool though; I know what you're shitty about and unless you intend to face it, shut up about it. Tonks saved his life, and you go and insult her. What did you expect him to do?" Ron reminded Ginny of the circumstances surrounding her and Harry's last real conversation.

"Now you think on that because I've exhausted all the smart things I know so I'm getting more drinks" Ron also stood.

"Also, you gotta know I'll back you, Ginny. Harry's my friend, but you're family" Ron spoke one last time before he walked away.

Ginny sat at the table, the other patrons of the Three Broomsticks milling around her, all their talking becoming nothing more than a sort of buzzing, droning noise in her ears while she sat and contemplated the words spoken to her by Ron, in an unusual show of intelligent speech.

'Hermione's been rubbing off on him….ewww, double entendre involving my brother' she grimaced and let loose a giggle.

Ginny decided to let Harry be for the day. She'd cut pretty close to the bone, and if she'd mentioned Sirius it may have resulted in bloodshed and property damage. Sighing she decided to go for a walk, clear her head and maybe think up a way of apologising to Harry without loosing too much of her pride and dignity.

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She slipped out of the Three Broomsticks without being noticed, though not a terribly difficult task on its own given the amount of patrons in it. Still, as Ginny stepped into the cold, biting air, she considered herself lucky to have friends as she did. All of them were batshit crazy in one way or another, but they'd stood by her thick and thin.

Ginny's wonderings took her to one of the less populated areas of Hogsmeade. She leaned against the side of a building and took a deep breath of the chilled oxygen.

"Well, look what we have here boys, the Blood Traitor" Draco's pseudo sophisticated drawl grating her nerves like sandpaper.

'Bugger' Ginny thought irritably.

"What do you want ferret?" Ginny asked, well aware on how Draco hated the nickname after Barty Crouch Jr, masquerading as Mad Eye had transfigured him into one.

"Oooh, this one has some teeth" Draco seemed to take the insult in his stride, but Crabbe and Goyle had seen him feel the sting.

"And I've got a wand and a temper, dickhead, so if you value your ability to wank, you'll piss off and leave me be" Ginny snapped, wand in hand.

Draco said nothing, but scowled and raised his hand. He held a piece of metal that Ginny could best describe as a tube on a handle. Not knowing what it is however, would prove to be Ginny's downfall: the item in question was a revolver.

"I hate Muggles as you know, but it must be said, they come up with some amazing inventions" Draco smirked, waving the item around like a toy.

Draco was also ignorant of the item's function and as a result had no respect for it. Ginny tuned to walk away, the sheer obnoxiousness of him was nauseating. In his arrogance, Draco pulled the trigger. The bang was deafening and Ginny was not prepared for searing pain to erupt in her left shoulder blade, a few inches above her heart.

"MORGANA'S TITS!" Goyle exclaimed.

"We're out of here" Draco threw the weapon away and he and his friends bolted in the opposite direction.

Ginny hit the deck pretty hard, her wound bleeding, not heavily thankfully. The bullet had lodged itself in her shoulder blade, making arm movements impossible. Feebly, her strength fading fast she got her wand and tried to cast a spell, any spell to get some attention and hopefully some help.

"This, really hurts" she mumbled weakly, tears streaming down her face.

Her pain was too great to allow her to think clearly and she dropped her wand, and her eyes fluttered shut, going into shock.

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Harry had been standing outside with Ron and Luna while Hermione sourced some books when Harry heard a very faint bang. Most of the Hogsmeade patrons thought it was a student letting off a firework for some fun and ignored it, however, it sounded eerily familiar.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Ron.

"Probably just a firework" he dismissed, going back to his window shopping.

Harry wasn't convinced and began walking towards the direction he heard the sound from. His friends, seeing little else to do, followed him. After pushing their way through the crowds, they got to the less populated area. Harry was about to call it quits when he and everyone else heard a low moan.

"Someone's here" he muttered, drawing his wand.

"GINNY!" Ron suddenly saw his sister and sprinted forward.

Ginny had begun getting a bit pale and had passed out from the pain. Her back was covered in blood from the wound and the gun lay on the ground, still warm from the shot.

"Don't touch that" Harry snapped, seeing Luna approach it curiously.

"Hermione, transfigure us a box or something to put it in" Harry quickly turned to his friend who would understand the nature of it.

"What the hell happened" Ron was getting frantic, putting his jacket around his sister.

"She's been shot, that thing is a gun, a Muggle weapon" Harry muttered.

Harry considered his position: Ginny had been shot with a gun, and was now in shock from blood loss and pain. St. Mungo's may not know how to treat such a wound and the closest Muggle hospitals were in Glasgow and no one could make the trip. Sighing and taking in the sight of his fast panicking friends, Harry decided to let it out.

'Burnout and the others are gonna skin me alive for this' he thought blandly.

"I know where we can take her" he said.


	11. Chapter 11

Without standing on ceremony, Harry pulled the communicator from his inner jacket pocket and activated it. Within seconds, a female voice responded to Harry's summons.

"Rally, we have an emergency that requires your special kind of discretion and Burnout's talents. A friend of mine has been shot and she won't survive a trip to a hospital. I'm sorry, but I didn't know who else I could get help from" Harry sounded genuinely anguished to ask for help.

"Chill out mate, I'm on my way. Hogsmeade doesn't have speed limits so I'll be there in about 45 seconds, keep your comm. on and get Tonks down here, somehow" Rally replied.

"Got ya" Harry pressed a button to disconnect Rally and then another to connect to Tonks.

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Tonks was just arriving home, feeling good. They'd rounded up several Death Eaters and even saved a few lives. It was gratifying to occasionally see Aurors do what they were trained to do. A quiet but recognisable beep sounded in her ear.

"Harry? Oh shit, is she ok? No, I'll be right there, hang tight love" she said, dropping her bags and locking her doors.

'Bastard sons of bitches, if I find who did this I'll rip their hearts out' she thought darkly, preparing her apparition.

With a loud pop, she disappeared from her own house and ended up in what she'd affectionately come to call the Flop House. Making a beeline for the garage, she saw Burnout was already prepping a small table and some improvised surgical tools.

"Need any help?" she asked, eyeing the professionalism the robot displayed.

"Yes, educate your people about guns" he muttered.

"Anything tangible and immediately helpful?" she snapped back, getting irritated at Burnout's jabs at Wizard society.

"Do you have any anaesthetics, enough to put someone under enough for surgery? I've not been able to get the required forgeries to order some from the local hospitals" he asked.

"I might, hang on" Tonks dropped her backpack, which contained a medical pack.

Rifling through it at high speed, she finally came across the potion she needed: The Juliet. So named because William Shakespeare invented it so his actors could do convincing performances of his play from which the potion derived its name.

"Here, get her to drink it, or inject it into her and she should be out totally cold for at least five hours" Tonks handed him the large flask.

"Excellent, truly excellent. Could you brew me an aft load of this later?" he asked, approving of its contents and how he was able to fit it against what he knew of the human body so far.

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Harry and company didn't have to wait long, Hermione's Muggle upbringing gifting her with a first aid course a year ago, so she knew enough to tell Ron to not touch Ginny in a jarring way. Suddenly a quiet roar that built to a clanging crescendo with the arrival of a green car shattered the unnatural quiet around the group.

"Harry, why has that car got no driver?" Hermione asked.

"No time to explain, we need to get her into the car, back middle seat now" he muttered.

"Harry…" Hermione was cut off by a disembodied female voice.

"What part of "No Time" escaped your comprehension, the 'No' or the 'Time'? Get the girl inside now!" Rally snarled.

Hermione was too stunned to move, leaving Ron and Harry to gently lift Ginny and place her on the middle section of the back seats. Rally instantly placed very strong straps around the girl's body to prevent any violent movement while driving. Then she reclined the back seat so Ginny was lying in the correct position. Satisfied his friend was safe, Harry jumped into the driver seat, Ron riding shotgun.

"You two, in now" Harry said, motioning to the two open back doors.

Luna saw Hermione would not move unless forced to, so she pushed the older girl forward, spurring her along until they sat in the car, flanking Ginny on either side. The doors shut and seatbelts surrounded them.

"Hang on, this is gonna feel a bit rough for anyone who's not the red headed female" Rally said.

With a violent screech and smell of burning rubber, Rally backed out of the alleyway and did a skidding 90degree turn. Switching off her Alt Limiter, she sped forwards: homing in on the Flop House, her advanced sensors allowing her to navigate with ease.

"Okay Harry, spill, what the hell is this thing and how did you make it work?" Hermione spoke up from the back.

"Hey, I got a name girlie and I'm not a thing" the indignant femme huffed as she skid around the last corner.

"What's your name?" Luna asked, ignoring Hermione's splutters.

"Rally; and I'll leave the explanations after we get your friend here to my colleague" Rally said, liking Luna more than Hermione so far.

They entered the garage, the others surprised to see Tonks there. Then their eyes came to rest on Burnout and aside from Harry and the unflappable Luna, they stopped cold. Luna had the good sense to get out and help Tonks and Harry place Ginny on the medical gurney they'd prepped for her.

"Tonks get rid of her shirt and upper undergarments please, so I can see to work on the injury" Burnout said calmly, scanning the injury.

"Okay, the rest of you head out back, Drift is there and he can tell you the story" Rally had to shake her chassis to make Hermione and Ron get out.

Harry led them out to the back, which sat under the protection of a stealth shield, allowing Drift to sit and lay on the grass as he chose. At that moment he was in vehicle mode, the water beads indicating a recent wash.

"Hey Drift, I brought my friends to see you, finally" Harry said, sounding more thrilled than he was.

"Hey man, what's going down" Drift could tell Harry's worried tone easily.

"A friend of mine, she got shot. We didn't find her for about ten minutes. I could only think to bring her back here, I'm sorry" Harry seemed to be deflating.

Drift decided to amaze Harry's friends and transformed. The process still made Harry stare, but the awe was gone and replaced with a quiet respect. The others however, while used to seeing one thing change totally from one form to another, weren't used to seeing something reconstruct itself from one form to another without complete change.

"Good afternoon. My name is Drift, I come from the planet Cybertron and I am an Autobot. I met Harry and Tonks when I dug them up from under a bridge after it collapsed on them. Any questions?" he covered the major points of their relationship to date.

"Uh…no…I have no questions what-so-ever" Ron said in a slow, awe struck voice.

"I have a question" Luna raised her hand, seemingly unaffected by all this.

"Yes?" Drift asked, looking curiously at the blonde.

"Are there Nargles or Blibbering Humdingers on your planet?" she asked, her tone serious.

"…What the hell are those?" Drift asked after a pause.

Hermione unexpectedly let go a tired and aggravated groan: the confused look on Drift's face mirroring the very same looks most people gave Luna when asked about her made up animals. Luna gave Hermione a contemptuous stare.

"Can we keep her? Please, she's cool" Rally asked, transforming also and smiling at the blonde girl and making everyone else jump.

"NO you may not keep her, Rally. She isn't a pet" Burnout groaned.

"Thank you, Rally. See Hermione, not everyone thinks my ideas are crazy" Luna said with a small degree of satisfaction.

"Luna now is really not the time" Hermione said wearily.

"Ho Ho, femme fight" Drift grinned, making Harry groan and Ron's eyebrow twitch.

"Shut up you sexual defective" a steel wrench knocking Drift in the cranial as his sister spoke.

"How's Ginny?" Ron spun around as he saw the smaller robot, his chest piece covered in blood.

"Oh she'll be fine; arm might be stiff for a couple of weeks, but otherwise, she's okay" Burnout turned his attention to Hermione, optics narrowed.

"Ms. Granger, I believe you have something for me. The weapon in this instance" he said, holding out his hand.

Gingerly Hermione placed the box she had conjured into Burnout's hand. With equal care he opened and extracted the item gently. He ran a very powerful scan over it. Then he turned to Tonks and without much ceremony, plucked a hair from her head.

"Ow, you could have asked" she grouched, ignoring Harry's giggle.

"Where's the fun in that?" Burnout asked.

It took scan seconds for his scan comparisons to turn up a partial match between Tonks and someone who had held the weapon.

"Tonks do you have any male relatives, about Harry's age?" he asked casually.

"Draco…wait…Draco did this?" Tonks' tone was low, dangerous and predicting violence.

"Yes, that appears to be the case" Burnout saw the angered looks on all of the young people's faces.

"I take it this is not the first time this young man has caused you grief?" he asked.

"Hardly" Ron spat savagely, before jogging into sit with his sister.

"Well we have enough evidence to take to the Aurors. We have the weapon, and we have Ginny who'll be able to point straight at Draco too. What's the problem?" Hermione asked, wondering why they were still here.

"No, sadly this must remain unofficial: it would lead to questions as to who fixed her, and the group of people who know we're here is getting too big in my opinion" Burnout countered.

"You want us to do nothing about this?" Hermione was stunned.

"I said it remained unofficial, I didn't say don't do anything" Burnout said with a smirk.

"Come on, we all need a sit down I think, stress is a huge killer to young students" Drift said, plonking himself down cross legged.

Hermione and Luna followed suit, Harry and Tonks joining them. While Hermione engaged Drift in questions about his home planet, Luna bounded over to Burnout. Before the good Doctor knew what was going on, he was broadsided by questions about animals he was sure didn't exist. His mono-syllabic responses not deterring the girl in the slightest.

'Must, resist temptation to kill, annoying adolescent' he repeated the mantra to himself several times over.

"Hold up, Luna isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes" she nodded.

"Okay, Luna, I'll be brief with you. I have never, in all my travels across the stars, seen any of the strange animals you have mentioned so far, or are likely to mention in the next hour" he said, hoping to douse her curiosity.

"Oh…then tell me about the animals on your planet then" his hopes were dashed and both his larger companions laughed loudly.

'Primus this is my punishment isn't it, you cunning old rust bucket' Burnout wasn't often one for prayer, but it seemed that only divine intervention would help him here.

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Ron came and sat down beside Harry: an unusually thoughtful look on his face. After a few moments he turned to Harry with a look of extreme gratitude.

"Harry, I don't know how much trouble this has put you in, but thank you" he said, placing a manly grip on his shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't letting my best mate's sister die, no sale on that" Harry said, returning the shoulder grip.

"So, moving on to a more interesting conversation, who is this mystery girl?" Ron asked, smirking again.

Tonks suddenly went very stiff, her eyes widening too. Harry also started panicking wondering what he was going to say. Rally leaned in, arms crossed in front of her chest wearing a huge smirk.

Harry had a feeling he knew what it meant. While Rally had gotten Tonks to lay off on the teasing that fateful day in Taggart's Crossing, it had not exempt her from doing the same to him. And her smug expression had a statement so clear it may as well have been typed: "Maybe I will and maybe I won't".

'This could turn ugly' Harry thought.

He wasn't ashamed to admit what he felt for Tonks, or that they had a relationship of sorts. However, he was still turning over the consequences of such a revelation. Harry had no doubt that once word spread around Hogwarts (which it would at an exponential rate) that he'd bagged a 23 year old and metamorph woman as a girlfriend, the male section of his fan-club would move beyond simple fan smothering to full blown worship: altars, prayer, and girls in togas…

…Possibly even ritualistic animal sacrifice in his honour.

The fairer side of it, however, would most likely form what Dean Thomas once called a Bitchkrieg against Tonks and make her life miserable, although given her reputation at Hogwarts for creative and effective revenge, he imagined that might not last long.

'Okay, Merlin you old son of a centaur, get me out of this. You owe me big dude' Harry prayed.

"Oh Harry, when do you and Tonks want to go on your next date?" Drift asked, not knowing the special kind of trouble he'd just caused.

'Fuck you Merlin, you Celtic hippy' Harry thought viciously.

There was a deathly silence wafting across the yard, broken only by Rally and Burnout slapping their faces in horror and disbelief. Harry wasn't prepared for that: perhaps for Rally, Tonks and himself to gather them around and tactfully explain how the relationship had developed. Drift on the other hand was more than happy to just drop a fifty megaton bomb of shock and awkward and hope for the best…

…his hopes were unfounded.

"WHAT???" Hermione shrieked at ear destroying levels.

'Oh bugger me what a mess' Rally and Burnout thought.

"Did I just put my foot in it?" Drift asked, looking a bit anxious.

"Up to your knee joint, shite for processors" Burnout growled.

"Um hold the Floo, and go over that last part real quick" Ron said, not sure he'd heard right.

Ron's eyes took a quick snap downwards and very nearly lost both eyeballs in shock. Harry and Tonks' hands…intertwined…in a highly familiar way. There wasn't that awkwardness of the first time from sharing that small intimacy.

"YOU CUNNING BASTARD" Ron shouted.

"What?" Harry turned around, giving Ron a disbelieving glare.

"You…and Tonks?" Ron was nearing speechlessness.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Rally saw the looks on Hermione's face, and she didn't like it.

"Where do we start with that question: legality, morality or practicality?" Hermione asked.

"I think you'll find the only real problem will be sociological rather than legal or ethical" Drift pointed out, having done some reading.

"Bloody hell; Harry you don't do shit by half do you?" Ron hissed, still hit for six.

Burnout scanned Harry again: that aura of his, whatever the hell it was, was climbing again. So fast was it climbing, that in half the time it took last time reach its peak, it did so again.

'This time, his friend is hurting her, not an unknown. Betrayal is a powerful motivator' Burnout thought, his sensors seeing the air ripples around Harry.

"Hermione, you don't understand, so will you calm down and let us explain?" Harry was trying to be reasonable.

Tonks wasn't saying much, her face somewhere between betrayed and upset. Luna was the only one who seemed to not be worked up, for good or ill, by this. Hermione was screaming something about laws and decency and Ron looked content to merely contemplate the possibilities of what Harry had done. None of this interested her, since Tonks could feel magical pressure in the area increasing and it was coming from her bespectacled boyfriend. She knew this because her hand had become numb.

'Best take control of this' Burnout thought, aiming an electrical pulse at Harry.

In his brief studies of human anatomy, aided greatly by Tonks and Harry, Burnout had discovered how remarkably alike the human brain was to a Transformer one in its use of electrical impulses. Also, as he'd discovered (much to Tonks' fright and annoyance), susceptible to artificially induced electrical impulses. With practiced ease he set his pulse emitter to the desired setting.

"Ms. Granger, please be quiet" he muttered and fired the pulse twice in quick succession.

The particular message this pulse was translated to in the brain was: I need sleep. This caused Harry to more or less close h is eyes and collapse where he stood. Saved from the indignity of chewing grass by Tonks' quick reflexes, she turned to take him inside and put him on a couch, Luna supporting the other side of him.

"Okay. Let me make one thing perfectly clear: what relationship they have, if any, is only your business if they make it so" the small but still intimidating Transformer narrowed his optics as he spoke.

"I'm sorry who are you?" Hermione asked, her famous 'holier-than-thou' tone seeping through again.

"My name is Burnout, a friend of Harry's. Better friend than you two at any rate" he snapped.

"Hang on a second mate: we've always backed Harry and we always will" Ron interjected.

"THEN WHERE WERE YOU?" Drift hollered, his voice shaking the windows.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked meekly, fearing she knew the answer.

"The summer, he was stuck with those sons of glitches nearly all this summer. Where the hell were you?" Rally elaborated, no less pleased than her brother.

"We weren't allowed to see him, Dumbledore said-" Ron was cut off by Drift.

"What you got no lugnuts, don't do what he said, break the fucking rules" Drift snapped.

"We would have put him in danger. We're at bloody war, its dangerous" Hermione interjected.

Neither of the two teenagers could have known the sheer volume of experience of war the three robots in front of them had. Ron had the good sense to at least look ashamed of not trying to contact him. He also saw their eyes darken and faces go from outwardly angry to that inside anger, the kind that's dangerous when let out.

"Hermione, he does have a point. We've broken rules before, why couldn't we just have sent our Owls to Mrs. Figg and asked her to drop them off in the letterbox at Harry's place?" Ron was now searching for ways to feel less like a bastard.

"Ron, how many times did Dumbledore say we're at war? Contacting Harry could well have gotten him attacked or killed" Hermione turned and frowned at him.

"Could you not encrypt your communications, or use a less conspicuous method?" Drift asked, cocking his head.

"Hey, don't lecture me about this: you're not at war, we are" Hermione uttered the worst possible words in the universe at the three Transformers.

"You're in no position to lecture us about war. War is all we have lived to know, and it may be what we die knowing. We've fought for millions of years" Rally clenched her fist, leaning forward threateningly.

"Drift, show them your recordings of the Battle of the Kytanium Plains, give them some food for thought" Burnout suggested.

Without another word, Drift activated the hologram emitters he possessed. They knew Harry and Tonks had seen and breathed the darkness of death. Not these ones though: certainly death had brushed by them, uncomfortably close in fact. But they lacked the coldness it brought.

"You want to know what war is, watch and learn" Drift said.

With a flash of light, Hermione and Ron found themselves immersed in an event, a terrifying event that would stay with them forever…

The Battle of the Kytanium Plains.


	12. Chapter 12

_Location: Planet Cybertron._

_Sector: Western hemisphere._

_Area: Kytanium Plains._

_Date: 2 million years ago._

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_Drift stood on sentry duty with his fellow team mate, Breach. Their Special Forces unit was hunkered down within a few astro clicks of the Decepticon front lines. Rumour was that Soundwave, Megatron's most trusted and successful general was there, planning a major campaign. As a result of that information, they'd been deployed. The Shadowbots._

_The team was about six strong. Drift himself, his sister Rally and Breach. In addition to them there was platoon leader Long Barrel, Detonate the demolitions expert and Dish, their communications officer._

"_What's the good word, Dish?" Breach asked, his drawl irritating the usually affable femme._

"_I just finished speaking with Jazz: Interlock_ _City_ _was attacked" she said, looking pensive._

"_How bad?" Drift asked, giving his comrade a soft look._

"_Drift, it may as well be sheet metal. Starscream took the whole Air Force. His elites, Thundercracker and Skywarp and their comrades, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet. They flew at the head of a force about one thousand strong" she explained._

"_Primus…how did they get close enough to hit the city?" Breach asked, knowing enough about the Decepticon Air Force to know it wasn't known for subtly._

"_Didn't matter. Starscream and the others flew in first: hard and fast. Took out the whole radar system in microns. Then the rest of them came down, they covered the city in a shroud and dropped bomb after bomb" she finished describing the Decepticon victory._

"_Pit Spawns!" the two mechs exclaimed loudly._

"_You two, in here, we got a mission" Long Barrel motioned for Drift and the others to enter their concealed base._

_Moving from their prone positions, the three Autobots slid down into the metal dust that made up part of the Kytanium Plains and climbed down the ladder. Crouching to fit, the three made their way along a tunnel to a larger room. Rally, Detonate and Long Barrel already sat around a small holotable._

"_As you've most likely heard: Interlock has been destroyed. Optimus Prime is furious that Megatron would attack a neutral city filled mainly with the infirm, sick and younglings" Long Barrel began._

"_Too right" Detonate muttered, fiddling with a dud blasting cap._

"_To that end, Jazz has given us a direct, but open ended order: make Soundwave's divisions pay the price for Interlock…with interest" he said, a low, dangerous voice._

"_Got any ideas?" Breach asked the group._

"_Yeah, I think I got one…" Rally said with a decidedly wicked smile on her face plates._

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_So for three orns they planned. Detonate had been asked to create small, nigh untraceable explosives. Rally's plan was to periodically feed them into the energy lines running from a refinery to Soundwave's base until every building's power conduits were lined with the small bombs. Any mech that survived would run out into the dusty plains. Only to find out how Kytanium dust reacted to intense heat._

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_The night time was best for this, Detonate had decided as she crept towards the refinery line: it was around the back of Soundwave's base, roughly eight astro clicks behind it._

'_And guarded by the most inept Decepticons I've ever met' she thought blithely as she snuck past Runamuck and Runabout._

_Finding the line that fed Energon to the base's power grid, she opened its sample tap. Making sure no one saw her, she poured the last load of micro bombs into the Energon line._

'_Perfect' she grinned as the packet drained itself._

"_Get up Autobot" a cold, flat voice made her processors freeze in terror._

'_It can't be…" she turned and came face to face with one of the most fearsome Decepticons…_

…_Soundwave._

_Soundwave's reputation as a General and tactician were legendary, rivalling the Autobot Prowl in cunning and intricacy. He also was fiercely loyal to Megatron and the Decepticon cause. His casual brutality however, was feared more widely than Megatron's. Where Megatron's brutal methods were products of his volatile nature and upbringing as a Gladiator in the Death Pits of Eastern Cybertron, Soundwave was a total enigma: he derived neither pleasure nor displeasure from his tortures…_

…_he just did them because it was to him, expedient._

"_Well if it isn't the famous loud mouth" Detonate snapped, her face coloured from embarrassment._

"_Silence. Query: what was your mission here?" he asked, keeping a firearm trained on her._

"_Sniff an oil spot" she retorted._

"_Condescending attitude, unhelpful" Soundwave said, adjusting his aim and shooting her in the left shoulder._

"_Repeat query: what was your mission here?" this time, Soundwave made his voice harder._

"_I hope you aren't too attached to that base of yours aft-wave, cos it's about to vanish" she snarled, pressing a button on her palm._

"_Ravage, eject. Operation, submission" Soundwave spoke._

_This time, a large part of Soundwave's armour detached itself, taking the form of a four legged animal. Without warning, it leapt upon Detonate, its strength knocking her to the ground._

"_Final repetition, Autobot. What was your mission here?" he asked again as she struggled against the small but powerful robot._

"_Look for yourself" she smirked at Soundwave, making him turn around._

_Soundwave watched in detached irritation as the base buildings began exploding. The sound of laser fire and plasma shells ringing in his sensitive audios. Stoically he turned back to the pinned Autobot. Without so much as twitch of his optics, Soundwave fired a shot at Detonate's knee joints._

"_Ravage. New mission, operation: execution" he said, noting the horror in his captive's face._

_The small black quadruped robot, however, was full of glee that was clearly visible in his optics. With a frame chilling snarl, Ravage began biting and clawing at Detonate with primal abandon. Detonate would not scream, she'd never give Soundwave the satisfaction of hearing her scream._

_Ravage saw his victim was holding out well, all things considered: so he did his favourite thing to do with thrashing Autobots. With a sickening snarl, he bit down on Detonate's neck, piercing the armour and the fuel lines that ran up it. Quickly chewing through her neck area, Ravage bit through the flex rod at the back, severing the neural circuitry from the rest of her body, the femme making gurgling noises._

"_Ravage, return" Soundwave intoned flatly._

_Ravage, recognising the call of his master, transformed again back to his standby mode: that of a large piece of chest armour. Soundwave reached into a small compartment on his hip and withdrew a laser cuter. His skill was nothing near Bonesaw's but he at least knew enough to open a dead Cybertronian up and search for usable parts._

"_Object found, highly desirable" he muttered in a quiet kind of awe._

_Ever so gingerly, Soundwave peeled back the armour in the chest, a Transformer's strongest and best protected area. Especially in femmes, and there was a very good reason for that. Just behind Detonate's own Spark chamber, was something infinitely more precious: a Spark Gestation Pod._

"_Soundwave to Hook, priority message" Soundwave, as his name implied, was quick to contact Hook._

"_Hook here, Soundwave, what do you want?" the snobbish Constructicon asked._

"_Requirements: your surgical skills to remove a Spark Gestation Pod from a deceased Autobot Femme" Soundwave wasted no time on small talk._

"…_I'll be right there. Transmit coordinates" Hook was briefly stunned to silence._

_Soundwave terminated the link. With something akin to glee, he looked over again at the melting ruins of his base. Megatron had questioned his plan from the very beginning: why risk so much for comparatively so little. It had taken Soundwave many Orns to convince his leader otherwise._

"_Trade, acceptable" he muttered as he went about stabilising the Gestation Pod._

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_In the base itself, Drift and Rally were making sure the Decepticons knew who they were. Bellowing Autobot war cries and mottos, they set up on the base, a finely tuned unit of destruction and demolition._

"_Here comes another one Rally" Drift cried, tomenage throwing another hapless looking Decepticon towards his spark sister._

_With a flourish of the blades on her forearms, she removed the Decepticon's head. Long Barrel and Dish had simply hurled glass beakers of Kytanium dust at their burning enemies, the metal dust turning molten in the intense heat, searing all who touched it: even bonding some to surfaces._

"_Drift this is Breach, I need you and your sister to get over here. Seems this base isn't full of incompetent, fragged up morons after all" Breach muttered as an Ion missile flew over head._

"_On way" the two replied._

_Transforming into their high speed all terrain vehicles, Rally and Drift sped off towards their comrades, taking a back way so as to out flank their enemies. Soon enough they saw why Breach was pinned down: luck more than anything else, two lugnut Decepticons had found a high powered weapon's platform and had dug themselves into an upper level ruin._

"_Rally, lob a incendiary in there, I got two spheres of dust with me" Drift communicated over his comm. link._

"_Okay" she affirmed._

_Drift came upon the lower level of the building the weapons platform was on. Seeing Rally there, ready with the grenade. With a nod, he ran forward at full speed and jumped, rotating and throwing the two glass containers he had up and into the alcove. A mere second after he let them go, Rally threw her grenades. The superheated plasma and flame ignited the dust and spilling molten metal on their enemies._

"_Oh yeah" Breach jumped up, an RPG launcher on his shoulder, firing into the alcove to finish off the Decepticons._

"_Something's wrong. This was too simple" Long Barrel said, watching the rest of the Decepticons flee to the rear of the base and run._

"_Yeah. It was. I recognise this one here, he's no warrior" Drift kicked the body of a dead Decepticon._

"_Who is it?" Rally asked, scanning the face plates and chassis._

"_Tumbler, he's a professional thief. And that one, Cross Beam. He's a slagging structural engineer" Drift said, realisation dawning on him._

"_They're all criminals and neutrals" Long Barrel was confused._

"_Detonate!" Dish cried and started towards the refinery, the others following fast._

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_Hook arrived as promptly as he could, Long Haul in tow. Hook had outfitted his comrade with a special transport unit. Quickly removing some tools and medical equipment he set to work._

"_This is amazing Soundwave, how good is your luck to come across this?" Hook asked as he gently cut away the Spark casing to get to the Gestation Pod._

"_Luck, not a factor. Planning, research, intelligence and strategy are factors. And they have born great results" Soundwave sounded almost poetic._

"_Hmm, well, I still think you've Unicron's luck to get her. Did Ravage do that?" Hook saw the claw and bite marks._

"_Affirmative" Hook saw that Soundwave's moment of poetry was gone._

_It took him several breems, all of it careful and exacting. Hook had removed the actual casing of Detonate's spark, but left all the cables in their place. He searched for the safety points. Safety points were sections of cable where it was safe to sever the Gestation Pod's connections so emergency equipment could be attached in the event of the death of the femme or bad trauma._

"_There they are" Hook finally said, grinning in triumph._

_Quickly severing the cables he lifted the now free standing Pod out of Detonate's body. Motioning towards Soundwave, the General opened up the container on Long Haul's cargo tray. Gently placing the device inside, clamps secured it in place, cabled attaching to give it sustenance so that it might survive its trip back to Decepticon headquarters._

"_Autobots approaching" Soundwave said, pressing a small button on a panel on his wrist._

"_What do we do?" Hook was a fighter, but they were outnumbered and he knew that the group heading towards them were Special Forces._

"_Strategy: retreat. Our own Commandos will cover our escape" Soundwave explained, transforming into his Surveillance and Communication vehicle and leaving._

_No sooner had Hook and Long Haul followed did five great shapes burst from the nearby building, blocking the Autobot team. The Combaticons had been longing for a chance to face their rivals in Prime's army for some time, and Soundwave had practically handed five of them to Onslaught and his team on a tritainium platter._

"_Hello Long Barrel, about time we finally met" Onslaught's cultured voice oiled danger._

'_Okay, here are the real warriors' he thought, sizing up his opposite number._

_Each member of Long Barrel's team began sizing someone up, the tense stand off making the air thick. For a few breems, no one moved, the only thing resembling movement was dust being blown past them. Then it all broke loose._

"_ATTACK" Onslaught screamed and leapt for Long Barrel._

_While the two leaders engaged in most noble and honourable combat of skills, as Breach called it, the other just picked a target and leapt. Breach in his infinite wisdom, decided to spear tackle Swindle since he was well known as a black marketeer. With a grin, the crazy jet began punching Swindle in the face. This did not deter Swindle from fighting as he began striking Breach in the sides._

_Dish made a beeline for Brawl, her cool demeanour at odds with Brawl's almost passionate love of a fight. Although Brawl was easily the larger and stronger of the two, Dish was much faster. She ran and jumped, twisting and kicking Brawl in the face. Dish was an expert in many martial arts on Cybertron and kept Brawl busy by kicking, punching and shooting him._

"_Are you fighting me, or engaging in foreplay?" he growled, a lewd grin on his face._

"_Funny how a Decepticon would even conceive of a difference between the two" she snarled back, kneeing him in the chest._

_Brawl suddenly fired his main canons. Dish had not expected it, and caught the blast full in the chest. Falling down in pain she grimaced as Brawl knelt next to her, cocking his head in an almost curious manner. Without saying anything he raised his arm weapons, aimed directly for Dish's Spark chamber and fired._

'_If she had been a Decepticon, what glorious death and powerful Sparklings we could have created' he mused, standing up…_

…_Only to be broadsided by a concussion bomb that Drift had thrown at him, knocking him into stasis lock._

_Long Barrel and Onslaught had gotten into such a ruckus that they ended up in a building. Though that was the direct result of the Onslaught ramming them through the wall._

"_So finally the two commanders meet, and fight as Mech's of Honour" Onslaught was very much the warrior._

"_Less talking, more dying" Long Barrel snarled, kicking Onslaught in the chest._

_Onslaught stumbled back, slightly dazed by the kick. He looked up and saw that Long Barrel had drawn a bladed weapon of some kind and was running at him. The scene seemed to go in slow motion as Onslaught caught the weapon hand when Long Barrel went for the thrust. Using deft moves, Onslaught twisted Long Barrel's hand around and before he realised it, the Autobot had run into his own blade. Onslaught just let him drop._

"_That should do the trick. Soundwave, are you clear yet?" he sent a message to Soundwave._

"_Affirmative. New orders: fall back to my location for transport back to headquarters" Soundwave's chilling monotone replied._

"_Understood" Onslaught looked outside the building he was in._

_Brawl had been dragged to safety by Blast Off, while Vortex and Swindle were keeping the remaining Autobots busy. He saw that in addition to the one Soundwave had killed, and his own opposite number, that one other Autobot lay dead._

"_Vortex, we have retreat orders, create a diversion of some kind so we can all get out of here" he sent a priority message to his comrade._

_Vortex nodded and head-butt Breach, knocking him offline. Without ceremony he transformed into his alt mode: a twin rotor hovercraft gunship. Revving his turbines to maximum power, Vortex began to demonstrate the origin of his name. While Onslaught transformed, Swindle and Blast Off secured the stasis locked Brawl to Onslaught's carrier tray._

"_Give us a few breems to get clear" Onslaught commanded._

"_Aye sir. Blast Off, how about we really make this a party?" Vortex affirmed and then switched a different channel._

"_What do you have in mind?" Blast Off asked, in his Aerofighter mode._

"_When I've got them all caught in the little dust devil here, ignite the dust with an incendiary blast" Vortex grinned madly to himself._

_Down below, Drift, Rally and Breach were hunkered down, having briefly escaped the Combaticon's fabled tornado of doom. Quickly seeking cover to stop them from being shelled by Blast Off, they conferred with one another._

"_Okay, in a few astro seconds, Vortex is gonna come back here with a funnel of dust" Breach said._

"_Yeah, and if Blast Off ignites it while we're in it, we're ninety types of slagged" Rally muttered, loading a fresh power cell into her Ion rifle._

"_Too right: I sent a shortwave to the Syriana Air Base. Jetfire and Skydive are on their way" Drift said, seeing Vortex coming back._

"_Quick, get into that building" Breach muttered, he and the others bolting for the building that Long Barrel's body was in._

"_Oh Primus" Drift muttered, rubbing his face plate._

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_The thundering outside signalled Vortex's return. The hover gunship was looking for his intended victims but could not see them, a quick conversation with Blast Off confirmed they'd made it inside the building below._

"_Blast Off, strafe the building a few times, put enough holes in it so that the dust gets inside" Vortex was getting irritated._

"_Very well" Blast Off muttered._

_The Aerofighter made a few quick strafes across the building he'd seem them enter. Using his pulse canons he fired enough holes into the walls and roof that the building allowed just about every particle of dust in._

"_FIRE!" Vortex shouted._

_Blast Off fired two incendiary bombs, igniting the dust in much the same way that Drift's team had been doing to them. However, Vortex had managed to create a massive dust storm and when it ignited; it turned into a swirling column of flame, parts of the building practically liquefying under the intense heat._

"_BOO YA, that got them" Vortex said, excited despite the scorch marks under neath him._

"_Come on, lets get out of here you lunatic" Blast Off muttered, turning around and flying to catch up with their brethren, a cackling Vortex behind him._

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_Jetfire_ _and Skydive had flown as fast as possible to the combat zone. When they arrived, it was a total mess. They saw what remained of Soundwave's base but continued onto the power station where the signal came from._

"_I'm not picking up anything Skydive, what about you?" Jetfire asked._

"_Not even a dip switch or two…wait, hang on. THERE" true to his name, when he saw what they were looking for, Skydive…dove._

_Jetfire_ _was too large to do that, he belonged to what was known as a Titan-class Transformer, large enough carry some of the smaller members of his own race. Transforming and landing with a large crash, he saw Skydive ripping into ruined building. Lending his impressive strength to the effort they eventually found who they were looking for._

"_Hey, aren't you to a sight for sore optics" Drift muttered, looking scorched and dented._

"_Well I see Kytanium slag has done little to improve your face" Skydive joked._

"_Very funny smart aft, get us out would you" he muttered, standing shakily._

_Skyfire_ _transformed again, opening his rear access ramp. Drift and Breach hobbled up together, one supporting the other. Rally emerged with Long Barrel's body. Drift and Breach quickly shot out, having injected some pain subsiders into themselves, to get Dish and Detonate's body._

"_What the Pit happened, this place has been really done over" Skydive muttered, helping Breach with Dish's body._

"_OH PRIMUS NO!" Drift's loud exclamation brought the other Autobots to his location._

"_What is it…oh no, tell me that isn't what it looks like" Rally looked fit to leak from her optics._

"_They removed her Pod, that slagging savage Soundwave, he took her Pod" Breach snarled._

"_Come on, let's get her back to base, give her a proper burial" Rally gently threw a chamois over their friend to hide her horrific injury._

_Solemnly they all carried Detonate's body and stored it in a sealed stasis unit inside Jetfire's cargo hold. Skydive took off first, checking for any of Starscream's cronies. Seeing none, he signalled Jetfire to take off, alerting the rest of the Aerialbots to come and act as escort. With a heavy spark, Jetfire gunned his massive engines, taking them home._

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Ron and Hermione looked fit to be ill. They'd watched the recording, apparently the grand sum of all the battle computer recordings made by Drift and Rally's team. The two Autobots seemed rather, drained. Burnout took charge, seeing his friends wished to remain silent for a while.

"There you have it, the Battle of Kytanium Plains. That is just a single battle. We have been fighting battles like that one and worse" he said, his tone softer than before.

"Why did you show that to us, to punish us?" Hermione asked, crying silently.

"No, to put in perspective what you're doing" he explained.

"That body part that Soundwave took, what was it?" Burnout turned and saw Luna; how long she'd been there he wasn't sure.

"In human terms, it was her womb. Cybertronian children, known as Sparklings are very rare and this is mainly because Femmes are rare" Burnout explained, drawing gasps of horror from all assembled humans.

"Merlin, that's grotesque. Why on Earth would he do that?" Ron asked, deciding that he didn't like Soundwave.

"I don't know, but knowing Megatron, it would be for a purpose as black as deepest space" Burnout muttered darkly.

"Have Harry and Tonks seen that, recording?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"Yes they have. Harry took it far better than you two did, but considering his experience with death and murder is rather intimate, it was a case of show us your's and we'll show you ours" Drift said, smirking slightly.

Rally and Drift, subsequently drained from having to watch that recording for the second time in the past four months, transformed and decided to go back to Glasgow. After changing their license plates, they drove off.

"There was another reason, for showing you that battle. I also wanted to make sure you knew that there are worse things in the world, than letting Harry and Tonks continue with their relationship" Burnout said, grinning a little.

"But…but" Hermione was still clinging to the rules.

"How happy has he seemed these past few months? It's all her, and they're not hurting anyone" Ron looked up at his girlfriend.

"How is that you can't see the wrong in this that I do?" she seemed anguished, although no one was sure why.

"We Cybertronian's live long, long lives. Seven years is such a small gap for us" Burnout smirked; he knew defeat when he saw it.

"Why are you so opposed: I know you're willing to break rules if you think it's justified?" Burnout asked.

"Because I'm afraid that if it fails, it will break him" Hermione admitted.

"Perhaps if you explain this to them instead of screeching at them, they'll be more willing to listen to you" Luna pipped up.

"Harry will be unconscious for a couple of hours. Come with me, let's go and check on your sister" Burnout led the three teenagers inside.

Burnout remembered very vividly the removal of Detonate's Spark Gestation Pod, and sadly was also privy to why it was taken. Looking back at the patch of ground where the hologram had been.

'So let mercy come, and wash away, what I've done' Burnout remembered the last part of a prayer from the Book of Primus, usually used for repentance.


	13. Chapter 13

Tonks sat with the snoring Harry's head in her lap, chuckling at the totally relaxed look on his face. His jaw hung open; a line of drool making its way down the corner of his mouth, its ultimate destination was her knee. She was gently caressing his hair, a little red in the face because everyone was here.

'Oh man, if they tell Molly or Remus, I'm such a dead woman' she thought as she heard the sounds of footsteps, the heaviest indicating Burnout was with them.

In a few brief seconds, Luna, Ron, Hermione and Burnout all stood before Tonks, the latter looking very pleased with himself. Hermione stepped forward and for a few minutes opened and closed her mouth without really saying much beyond a grunt or two.

"Tonk, I'm…sorry. For yelling at you the way I did" she finally managed to blurt out.

"I understand, you're one of his oldest friends and you've been through a hell of a lot together. I sort of expected this kind of reaction" Tonks admitted sheepishly, then frowned as she saw the somewhat, haunted expressions on their faces.

"Are you three okay, you look as if you've just seen Voldemort?" she said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Sort of, Drift showed us some kind of a recording" Ron said.

Tonks made a sharp intake of breath and turned her now disturbingly red eyes to Burnout. Though they might frighten most others, Burnout was used to getting contemptuous looks. As a result, the gaze didn't faze him in the slightest.

"They called Drift and Rally out on war experience, they're career soldiers and that sort of insult doesn't pass" he shrugged.

Tonks was not happy: the recordings that Ron was referring to undoubtedly was the Kytanium Plains one she and Harry had seen. It was very possible that they'd be having nightmares for the next couple of weeks.

"Where are my two large autonomous friends?" Tonks said, reining in her anger.

"Went for a cool down drive, probably power sliding around some mountain roads now" he shrugged, hoping that they didn't run into Vortex and Blast Off.

"How's Ginny, is she awake yet?" Hermione asked, remembering her friend.

"She'll be waking up in a few minutes" Burnout made a quick call on his comm. unit to call Rally back.

"Rally is the more understanding of the two, Drift was hit very hard at Kytainium, he and Detonate were, yeah, you know" Burnout wasn't terribly comfortable discussing Cybertronian intimacy with Humans.

"Wow…no disrespect intended, Burnout, but I think that was far more than we needed to know" Ron's eyelid was twitching.

While all this was going on, Harry began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned, drawing the attention of the assembled party. Blinking several times and looking up he saw Tonks, smiling wryly.

"What happened to me? I remember getting a little cheesed off and then WHACK, out like a light" he groaned sitting up.

"That was me, sorta wanted to head off any problems at the pass" Burnout mentioned.

"Problems?" Ron asked.

"Never you mind lad. Rally's here. Hermione, you first while we get Ginny" Burnout pointed to the door, a look not unlike Mr. Granger's when he was getting her do something she had to do, but was afraid to.

"I'll go with her, come on Hermione" Tonks grabbed the smaller girl by the hand and led her outside.

"Okay, you three, lets go" Burnout lead them back into the garage.

Ginny was lying asleep on a metal slab; a blanket underneath her to stop her getting cold. Her upper body and left shoulder were wrapped in bandages and a new shirt had been put on her much to Ron and Harry's relief.

"And in five, four, three, two and one" Burnout counted down.

Ginny woke suddenly and like all sudden wakers, tried to get up. Her very sore left shoulder however, determined that there would be no sale on that front.

"Ow, Merlin's ball sack that hurts!" Ginny exclaimed.

Ron and Harry snickered at her foul language, drawing her attention which they returned with waves. Then of course Ginny screamed when she saw Burnout. Harry looked at his watch: Ginny stopped screaming after about thirty five seconds.

"Who, what?" she managed to get out.

"Oh no, I'm not explaining squat. That's your job you three: explain the rules, the history and blah, blah" Burnout wondered over and picked up a vial of mild pain numbing potion.

"Here, take this for the rest of the day. Before the end of the day, go and see Madam Pomfrey and ask for more and give her this" Burnout handed her the potion and a scroll.

"You know Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked, a bit shocked.

"And your Professor Dumbledore too, yes, now go on and shoo" he muttered, a wry smile on his face as they left.

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Meanwhile, Hermione was having one of the most awkward conversations of her life: she was apologising to Rally, finding it hard to meet the Autobot Femme's optics. Not because they were judgemental, but because they were so sad.

"I genuinely can't apologise enough, Rally, I didn't know. Should have thought it through a bit more" she said.

Rally said nothing but gently leaned down and as carefully as she could, pet Hermione on the head. Hermione looked up and saw now she was offering her hand; although impractical the symbolism wasn't lost on the girl.

"Apology accepted, Hermione. Friends?" she asked, her optics brightening a little.

"Friends" Hermione said firmly, gripping Rally's middle finger as firmly as she could.

"With you, Ginny and Luna in the know I'm not so alone in what was almost a boy's only affair" she grinned at her two compatriots.

"What do you think Rally, girls night out?" Tonks smiled widely.

"Or girls night in, the garage here is large enough" Rally returned the grin.

"They're plotting gentlemen; be on your diodes" Burnout said, loud enough for Rally to hear.

"Are you insinuating something Burnout?" Tonks asked, her eyebrows raised slyly.

"It has been my experience that when females of any race congregate like you are now that it only spells trouble for later" he replied flatly.

This gave Hermione and Rally and chance to laugh together, making their new friendship official. Luna also smiled, and Ginny wasn't sure how much more of these surprises she could take. Obviously she was in for one more as Rally transformed into her vehicle mode.

"Okay everyone, get in" she said, much gentler than she had been the first time she had spoken to them.

Hermione and Ron opted for the back seats, Ginny taking the middle. Luna took the front passenger seat because she wanted to talk with Rally. Harry was going to the driver side but saw Tonks, still looking a little sad. With some determination and no small amount of trepidation he strode over to her.

"Hey, you gonna be ok?" he asked, the dusk creating a sort of mellow light to fall on her face.

"I'll be ok" she assured him.

Harry took the initiative this time and gently cupped her cheek with his hand. With equal gentleness he drew her face down and kissed her lightly on the forehead then touching them together.

"Where the wind blows, remember?" he reminded her of what she said to him after their first date.

"I think that was a song lyric" she said with a small chuckle.

In the car, Ron and Hermione saw Ginny's heart break in half. She knew what kind of relationship that intimacy entailed and it was a kind that Ginny now knew she could never hope to have. Hermione braced herself for a detonation of nuclear proportions…but it never came.

"That explains a lot" Ginny said quietly, leaning back in the seat.

Ron was of two minds. He couldn't be angry at Harry, not logically. His friend had found a happiness long denied him and he couldn't be unhappy about it. Then again, unknowingly or not, Harry had hurt his baby sister and he'd be no kind of brother if he let that go. It didn't help that Ginny's face registered total and utter defeat, a look he'd never seen her have.

"Harry, come on, it's getting dark" Rally reminded him.

Harry gently broke his contact with Tonks and walked and sat over into his friend. With surprising grace, Rally started her engine and pulled out of the driveway. The darkness, coupled with her tinted window meant she could drive them as far as the gates of Hogwarts before leaving them.

Harry checked the rear view mirror as subtlety as he could. He saw the look on Ginny's face and screwed his eyes up in frustration. This had to be put right: and as much as it sucked it meant have a long and probably uncomfortable conversation with the girl. As cruel as it was, he almost wished it was Luna; her accepting attitude and unrelated status to the Weasley family would have made it easy.

'But earning the good things in life are seldom easy' he was reminded of something he think his uncle said one time.

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It took Rally only a few minutes to circumnavigate Hogsmeade Village and get to Hogwarts. Their curfew was up and as expected there was a welcoming committee. Fortunately, that committee consisted only of Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. Tiredly, the group of teenagers exited the Autobot.

"Thank you Rally for delivering them back to us safely, and please also pass on my thanks to Burnout for what I'm sure is exemplary work on healing Ms. Weasley here" Dumbledore addressed the car, giving her a pat on the bonnet.

"No problems. Now must be off" she said, pulling away and taking her speed up to fast when she cleared the main gates.

"Well it is late, although Ms. Weasley I must crave your bravery and fortitude for a while longer whilst Poppy goes over your information from Burnout and gives you another once over" Dumbledore paused and addressed the others.

"In the interests of fairness, I must dock your houses ten points for being out late. Now you've obviously had a tiring day, take these notes and off to bed with you" he said, still smiling.

For once, no one objected to the issue of house points, like so many others, they'd fast been put in perspective for them all today.

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The darkness that had fallen over Scotland made moving so much easier, Onslaught had decided. Swindle had locked onto a homing beacon presumable set by their two flying brethren and had been tracking it for several hours. The interference and lack of a satellite network making their job that much harder however. They'd spent several days trying to track it properly.

"What the slag is causing all these problems with the equipment?" Brawl asked his more technically inclined brother.

"If I knew, we still wouldn't be trying to find those two posers now would we" Swindle snapped back, keeping his voice low for fear of another reprimand from Onslaught.

"Wait, I got it" Swindle looked excided, a situation that seldom went well for any mech he happened to deal with.

Quickly pointing up the mountains they'd come to, Onslaught groaned and smacked his palm into his face.

"Trust those two to ensconce themselves somewhere where even assistance can't reach them" he muttered.

"No problem for me" Brawl grinned, extending the claws on his wrists.

As their better equipped brother made his accent, Swindle and Onslaught elected to stay and wait for them. Having little to say, the wait which must have lasted almost two earth hours was slow.

However their silence was interrupted by a loud whooping sound. Looking upwards, the two only had seconds before Brawl, looking for all the world like a Sparkling with a new toy, came bounding down the mountain. He landed with a great crash on the ground.

"They're coming down now" he grinned at scaring his two comrades, liking the brief panic he'd caused.

"Sparkling" Onslaught muttered.

Sure enough, the two fliers showed up nice and promptly, transforming a few feet above their smaller contemporaries and dropping to ground much in the same fashion as Brawl.

"Onslaught" the both said, standing to attention.

"So, which one of you is responsible for making us make this little trek half way across two countries?" he asked.

"He is" Blast Off and Vortex pointed to each other and spoke at the same time.

Brawl's smile widened and Swindle sniggered as they saw Onslaught's irritation grow from mild to large in the space of half an astro second.

"You know what, forget it. We need to establish a base camp since its clear we'll be here for a while it seems" Onslaught thought of something more practical to calm down.

"Well, we could dig out the side of this mountain. We've got solar energy collectors up top" Vortex explained, hoping to get off Onslaught's waste list.

"Swindle, how many of those cloaking nodes do you have?" Onslaught asked.

"About twenty" he answered with a shrug.

"Good, I estimate we'll need about four to disguise the entrance if it's to be large enough to accommodate these two ballast for brains" their leader pointed to the two fliers.

"Brawl, get cutting. Right now a large enough space for us all to recharge for the night will be sufficient. You two, start rigging cables down the ground so we can hook up recharge points" Onslaught commanded.

"What about me boss mech?" Swindle asked, curious.

"When all is said and done, you will be setting up the cloaking nodes. For now, stand guard with me to secure the perimeter" was his reply.

With their orders given, the Combaticons, now reunited began their all night slog to have somewhere to hide created by dawn. They had a long, difficult search ahead of them. But their mission was clear. And they would not disappoint Megatron, or else they would end up deactivated…or worse, back in prison.

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Sunday morning came with a lethargic mood about it. Harry and his friends rose and dressed in a sort of daze. Meeting in the common room, they all smiled softly, except Ginny who still seemed upset. Silent agreement got them out of the common room, meeting Luna on the way to breakfast.

Before arriving at the Great Hall, Harry and company ran in to Draco and his two offsiders. It was perverse and tense but Draco was a bit surprised: he knew that if Ginny was awake, then Ron would have to know what happened. It was common enough knowledge that Ron hated him and any excuse to give him a flogging was enough.

'So why isn't violence ensuing?' he wondered.

"Are you blocking our way for a reason Malfoy or are you just being a pain?" Hermione, ever the tactful one asked.

"Smell that boys, its, filth" Draco decided to press his luck; there was visible tension between them now.

"Definitely filth. Must be the Mudblood and Potter's mother" Draco was pressing all the right buttons.

There was an audible gasp among the group and some of those passing by. They stood very still, all eyes on Harry as a myriad of emotions played across his face almost like a spinning drum on a slot machine. However instead of anger being the final display, Ginny and Hermione saw…deviousness.

"You know Malfoy, I've come to a conclusion in all the years I've put up with you bullshit" Harry said, crossing his arms and resting his chin on his left hand.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Draco was confused.

"The real reason you hate me, and Ron and Hermione. You hate us because you know Ron and Hermione's parents love them" Harry began.

"Shut up Potter" Draco growled, stepping up close to Harry.

"And the reason you really, really hate me. Because you know that my parents loved me enough to stand against the darkness and die to defend me. And it burns you the hell up because even in your secure little bubble, at the very back of your tiny brain: you don't know" Harry narrowed his eyes, adopting what Drift called a 'Starscream Smirk'.

"Don't know what smart arse?" Draco tried to look threatening; but the shaking of his eyes was enough to egg Harry on.

"You don't know that your parents love you enough to do the same. You know how much we're loved and it scares the ever loving shit out of you, that you can't say the same" Harry still had that smirk.

"How dare you…" Draco was snarling now, his face contorted in a scowl that made him look like a feral wolf.

"I know what you did to Ginny. It is by sheer luck that you aren't a grease spot right now" Harry whispered, his smirk dissolving to a hard look.

"We all have our prices Potter, what's your's?" Draco asked, trying not to dwell on what Harry said.

"You can't buy me, Malfoy. You continue to know that we know what you did" Harry finished and walked forward, looking all the part of Cool Hand Luke.

Hermione just gave Draco a contemptuous, if not homicidal glare as she walked past him. Ginny was content to walk straight past him, not even looking with her head held high and proud. Ron stopped as he was directly parallel with the Slytherin boy, and the spoke in a calm and level voice.

"If you ever, come near my sister again, I'll kill you. No matter what it costs me, my brothers and I will find you, flog you to within an inch of your life and then hang you from a tree" Ron laid out the plan.

"Piss off, Blood Traitor" Draco hissed, trying to retain some of his fast fading dignity.

"Glad we understand each other" Ron said and continued forward.

Draco stood very still, his eyes dangerously close to shedding tears. His fists were clenched tightly, his well manicured nails cutting into his skin, mere nanometres from drawing blood. Nervously, his two cohorts approached him.

"Draco, you okay?" Goyle asked.

"I'm fine you nitwit" Draco hissed, taking off towards the dorm.

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Luna departed the group, heading to her own table to eat. The other four friends elected to sit together, despite the clear tension. Ron, possibly for the first time in his life, ate slowly and sparingly: his mind filled with images from that battle. Hermione likewise, unconsciously kept rubbing her abdomen, the surgical but savage removal of that Autobot femme's most sacred internals.

"Harry. May I speak with you privately please?" Ginny asked in a soft voice.

"Sure. When?" Harry responded: this was how he liked his bad news, straight and to the point.

"After breakfast, we'll head off to Hagrid's Hut, he should be feeding the animals about now anyway" Ginny said, trying hard not to cry.

Harry just nodded, eyeing his food with the same disinterest as everyone else appeared to be. After five minutes and as many mouthfuls of food, Harry and Ginny both rose and left the table. Ron watched them go, groaning and letting his head hit the table as they left the Great Hall.

"I think I'd sooner jump off the Astronomy Tower rather than be either of them right now" he said quietly.

"This is certainly going to add an element of strain at Christmas" Hermione added, taking Ron's hand in hers.

"To say the least" he finished, squeezing his girlfriend's hand.

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The walk was deathly quiet; in fact an ominous silence enveloped the pair as they made their way through the almost deserted hallways to the front door. The slight frost crunching under their shoes as they arrived at Hagrid's Hut and took a seat on a pair of rather oversized pumpkins.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"Why what?" Harry asked back, confused.

"Why Tonks, fool?" Ginny muttered.

"Would it be unfair to say I don't know? It just kind of developed when at first we were the only ones who knew about the Autobots" Harry said, grinning a little at the memory.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ginny's next question caught Harry off guard.

"Wait, say again. How can you possibly have done anything wrong here?" Harry demanded.

"Well you're going out with Tonks instead of me or any girl close to your age bracket for that matter. We all not measure up or something?" Ginny snapped harshly,

"Ginny that isn't fair. Look, I've clearly hurt you and for that I'm sorry but, I can't control who I become attracted to. Nor can I help it if that attraction is returned" Harry said hotly.

"Oh come on Harry, level with me. What's wrong with me?" Ginny still seemed fixated on the idea that she was lacking somewhere.

"Ginny, just because I don't find you attractive that way or have romantic feelings for you doesn't make you deficient in any way. That's an absurd way to think" Harry explained.

Ginny remained silent, tears stinging her eyes as Harry did the one thing that Ginny could trust him to do with her, be honest, and how she both hated and loved him for it. The hatred stemming from the fact that Tonks had got his heart first, effortlessly too it seemed. Yet she still loved that he assured that there was nothing wrong with her despite all her efforts.

"This is your mother's fault you know" Harry said suddenly, breaking Ginny from her thoughts.

"What?" her tone was flat.

"Ginny, I love your mum like my own, but she's been filling your head full of bollocks about me since you were old enough to process sound" Harry pointed out.

"You know Harry, you're your own worst enemy sometimes" Ginny muttered.

"I know. Believe me I know" he said.

"No I don't think you do. You're right to a point, people have been given an image of you as the confident super hero, and your exploits only fuel that. Yet you're so self effacing, loyal and worst of all shy. And shit like that makes it very hard for us not to be attracted to you" Ginny fixed him with a sharp stare.

"Oh come off it" Harry dismissed her claims.

"No, I won't. Time for some truths, Harry. There are a bunch of students from Ravenclaw who's families are doing a genealogy study on the students to see who would make the best wife for you" Ginny began telling Harry some of the things he ignored or that went on while he was else where.

"…uh?" was all he managed.

"Last month I was in the senior girl's bathroom getting some, stuff, and as a result of that I can now name two Hufflepuff fifth years that would, in the impossible situation where you wanted to have sex them both, agree to a threesome rather than make you choose" she finished.

"Ginny, what on Earth makes you think this is shit I want to know?" Harry was, taken aback by the information.

"I know you don't, and the fact you ignore it only strengthens your image as a man, rather than a boy. I'm curious if Tonks is even aware of what kind of rabbit she's just pulled from the love hat" Ginny stood, her bad arm swaying in its sling.

"Gee and here I was thinking I was the lucky one, thank yo so much for opening my eyes Ginerva" Harry shouted, sarcasm in his tone.

"You know what, this is exactly one of the primary reasons I like Tonks, Ginerva. Tonks has what seems to be the rare ability to recognise me as a human being. I honestly think it may have to do with her partially Muggle upbringing" Harry snapped.

"How is that relevant?" Ginny asked.

"Does the name, Winston Churchill ring a bell, or perhaps Leonardo Da Vinci or hell even George Lucas ring a bell to you?" Harry posed the question.

"No, why should they?" Ginny said, not seeing the point.

"Exactly my point. I'll wrap this up now Ginerva, I'm sorry that I've hurt your feelings. I love you like family but I really like Tonks and for reasons I'm yet to fathom, she likes me too. So if you think I'm not going to seize an opportunity like that then you are sadly mistaken" Harry said, standing up and walking back to the castle.

Ginny watched him go, musing on what she was now seeing. The only thing worse than Harry actually walking out her life was the hope of him doing the same. And that was exactly what was going on now. Her hopes, her dreams since childhood had just been shattered in a few short minutes worth of brutal honesty.

"Shit!" she exclaimed.


	14. Chapter 14

Voldemort sat on a sort of throne in his lair, before him was a long trestle table that had his upper most echelons sitting at it. Lucius Malfoy, his wife Narcissa and a man named Yaxley down one side. Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov and Severus Snape sat down the other side.

"Tell me, Lucius, how is your plan to kill Dumbledore progressing?" Voldemort asked conversationally.

"It goes like all true progress my lord, slowly but secretly" Lucius answered.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, going that little bit harder than they were before. The look was not lost on Bellatrix, who simply smirked behind her hand, held almost seductively in front of her mouth.

"CRUCIO" Voldemort pointed and bellowed the curse.

Lucius, to his credit, managed not to fly from his chair but merely stood up in a manner as if he'd sat on an upturned thumb tack. His wife Narcissa watched with a guarded but fearful expression as her husband gripped the table in an effort not to scream. When Voldemort lifted the curse, Lucius dropped unceremoniously into his seat again.

"Lucius, for a man of such refined education, breeding and philosophy I found that response rather, lacking and vague. Elaborate" Voldemort casually toyed with the ornate carvings on the armrests of his chair, his eyes remaining fixed on Lucius.

"Well, my lord, Draco informs me he has come into possession of a powerful poison which he intends to slip into Dumbledore's mead at a convenient moment. Perhaps, Severus you could facilitate that?" Lucius tried to shift some responsibility to Snape.

"Just because your half wit child is incapable of poisoning an old man is no reason to set me up as your patsy, Lucius" Snape replied smoothly.

This time Bellatrix had to giggle. It was a high pitched whine with what could only be called a pinch of insanity to it. Narcissa sent her sister a glare, more for Draco's benefit than her husband's though.

"Although a simple 'no' would have sufficed, Severus, you are correct. Lucius, you are fortunate that at this time we must move quietly to gather our strength" Voldemort began, eventually zapping Bellatrix with a silencing charm: her giggling was irritating him.

"Yes my lord" Lucius said, his voice cracking from the aftershocks of his painful punishment.

"Your boy has until the new year to do something useful, meanwhile, we shall continue to bring others into our fold, or at least employ" Voldemort thought against cursing Lucius again.

"Others my lord?" Yaxley asked, a confounded look on his face.

"Yes. Lucius here has, for example, ensured us the services of Fenrir Greyback. A name I'm sure most of you know" he explained.

"A Werewolf, what do we want with such disgusting creatures?" Bellatrix noticeably wrinkled her nose, her humour all but gone along with whatever charm kept her quiet.

"Nothing more than their brute power. In one fell swoop, we will use the most base of magical creatures to do away with blood traitors and mud bloods, and then we need only dispose of them in return" Voldemort explained.

Bellatrix was still visibly uncomfortable (or afraid) of having a creature like Fenrir Greyback within a mile of her, but given his reputation, it wasn't a shock. The others spoke quietly amongst themselves while Voldemort sent a piercing stare towards Severus Snape, undoubtedly trying to know the man's mind.

'Credit where credit is due, Severus, your mind is a hall of mirrors and smoke' Voldemort wasn't one to praise a mind unless it was exceptional and Snape's mind was exactly that.

He sent a look to Bellatrix who was in no uncertain terms making what most would call 'goo goo eyes' at him. Although she was definitely an attractive woman, second perhaps only to her own sister sitting across from her, Voldemort decided against indulging her again…the scar on his shoulder and the slight kink in his left knee not having healed from last time.

'So far that has been the only real failing with my plan…most of the attractive women are so damned noble and stupid and those that aren't are bat shit crazy' he thought with a sardonic grin, leaving this followers to themselves.

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Ginny still sat on the pumpkin in the chilly morning air, wondering what to do. Despite her misgivings, if what Madam Pomfrey had said last night was half true, Harry had taken a huge risk to ensure her injury was repaired. Also, she was privy to the concrete fact that life existed beyond the borders of space, life with a great power and a great evil.

'After all that, I'm placed in a position of trust…I know what is going on between him and Tonks. I wonder what would happen if I told Tonks' boss' for a perverse moment Ginny wandered down that path.

She had images of courts, trials and prison sentences. Harry perhaps put at the mercy of the Ministry until he was seventeen, constantly examined and analysed at St. Mungo's by therapists. Tonks would be utterly destroyed; Ginny almost saw it like dropping a porcelain statue and watching it shatter.

"He'd never let that lay, no chance" she chuckled darkly at the thought of Harry and his new friends storming Azkaban prison, freeing Tonks and levelling it.

Most of all, she saw the one thing on Earth she'd never get over: Harry Potter hating her unconditionally and eternally. Her family and friends wouldn't be too pleased with her either, but their scorn she could probably shrug off, after a few years. His hatred, she would probably never recover from.

"Why the hell is this so bloody hard?" she snarled to herself, getting up and stalking off the grounds.

Ginny wasn't sure how long she'd walked or how far, but when she finally looked up she found that she was at the Hogsmeade train station. Groaning in frustration she sat down on a bench and screamed until her lungs hurt.

"Merlin DAMN IT! Damn Harry and damn those Autobots" she sobbed.

"Now where did you learn a word like that, young lady?" a very posh sounding voice asked.

Ginny froze, not knowing where the voice came from. She slowly looked around the station platform. Nothing but damp concrete and waste paper. It was still early on a Sunday morning and no one was about. She heard a familiar grinding and clanking noise and turned around. Standing above her now was a maroon coloured robot. He was larger than the other two she'd seen, much larger. Seeing that the Hogwarts Express was gone, tender and all, she assumed he was the train.

"Hello" he said, bowing a little.

"Oh this is getting crazy" she groaned.

"Well I think it only proper that I introduce myself: my name is Gauge and as you may observe, I am an Autobot" he sounded very proper.

"Ginerva Weasley, but I prefer Ginny" she stuttered back.

"Well, Ginny, I am trying to locate two of my compatriots. Would you do me the service of telling me where they are?" he asked with an affable smile.

Ginny was still stunned: the robot had to be nearly as tall as her house. He was very thin and it looked like the chimney and the front of the train itself had made a sort of top hat on his head. She could also see that the wheels of the train and tender ran all the way down his legs and feet.

"I ah, honestly couldn't tell you where they are. I don't remember the way back" she said sheepishly.

"Oh, botheration" he said.

"Well, perhaps I could ask Harry to come and tell you, he knows where they are. Or can you call them somehow?" she asked, remembering the stories of their advanced technology.

"Oh yes, I had clean forgotten that" Gauge seemed rather surprised he'd forgotten.

"Gauge to Rally, come in Rally" he said, still sounding very chipper.

"Gauge, by Primus's hand what are you doing here?" the surprised voice replied.

"I was sent to, look for you I think" he replied.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, I got rather caught up in doing my puzzles" Gauge's voice almost reminding Ginny of Luna's.

"Estimate for me then" she said, rubbing her head in anguish.

"Since the children started school" he offered.

"You've been doing puzzles for nearly two Earth months…Primus you'd loose your head it wasn't bonded to you" Rally sounded very exasperated.

"Who found you anyway?" she asked.

"Why this charming young woman, who judging by scans, has been given medical treatment by a Cybertonian" he said smiling widely.

"Yes, our dear medic Burnout did that. Ginny, if you can hear me, stay put and Drift will be along in a few minutes and keep this great lummox out of sight" Rally spoke louder to allow Ginny to hear her.

"Sure" the girl replied with trepidation.

The silence was deafening. Ginny had until now never understood that saying until right now. The stillness and quietness of the air around her created a sort of fuzziness in her ears that almost overloaded her when the overwhelming feel of the situation was shattered in the most unusual way.

"In the basement there are 3 light switches in the off position. Each switch controls 1 of 3 light bulbs on the floor above. You may move any of the switches, but you may only go up stairs one time. How can you determine which switch controls each light?" Gauge suddenly said.

"What?" Ginny was caught off guard.

"It's a riddle. Answer it if you can" the smug Autobot said, reverting to alt mode on the tracks again.

Ginny was stumped. Although Gauge wasn't to know she'd no experience with light bulbs or anything Muggle, the sheer randomness of the riddle was enough to alleviate the stifling atmosphere and occupy her brain. She didn't have much time to contemplate the riddle however since the quite rumble of a car engine heralded Drfit's arrival.

'For a machine, he's kinda, handsome' was Ginny's first thought.

Drift's body would look like that of a professional soldier or perhaps a fighter: lean, and compact and brimming with power. His face was a strange thing to behold, made of tiny plates of metal and wires, creating a rugged look. His eyes ('Were they called eyes?' she wondered) were a purple colour that sparkled with mischief.

"Well, hello. You're new" he said, sounding as if he was flirting.

"Hi, I'm Ginny" she squeaked.

"Drift me old cocker, I think that would be bad sport" Gauge said reproachfully.

"Translation?" he asked, looking at Ginny.

"I'm lost too" Ginny shrugged.

"Forget it" Gauge muttered, activating a hologram projector.

"You are going to need a more practical alt mode. You're a triple changer aren't you?" Drift asked.

"Quite so, quite so" he replied in that annoyingly chipper voice of his.

"Good, we'll scour some books and transmission, try and find you a more suitable alt mode for your third form" Drift muttered.

Drift transformed again, opening a door for Ginny to get in. Slowly, the teenage girl sat down on the driver seat. The door closed and a racing harness enclosed her small form. Ginny had never really rode in a car before, the last time a haze due to painkillers and misery. This time however, she could _feel_ the gentle hum of the engine.

"You've never really been in a vehicle have you?" Drift asked in his baritone voice.

"No" Ginny remembered Harry's barb about her not knowing much about the Muggle world.

"Then hold on tight sweetspark, this will blow your mind" Drift would be grinning like the proverbial cat if he were in robot mode.

Ginny suddenly felt her blood stir as small vibrations tingled up her spine from the seat. Drift was gunning his engine harder than was normal or healthy. With speed she'd not felt since last being on a broom, Ginny was sucked back into the seat as Drift released his handbrake and shot forward.

"Whoa!" Ginny remarked as the vibrations increased along with the exhilarating feeling in her bones.

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It was an astonishing feeling, she would later decide, to be going so fast and turning corners almost too tight to try on a broom and yet not be doing a single thing other than enjoying it. Every so often she felt a loud clunk as Gauge ran beside them to keep up, a hologram disguising him as a giant so at least if he was spotted the public wouldn't fly into an _immediate_ panic.

Fortunately they arrived without too much incident, only being spotted by a few bleary eyed drunks and one very angry publican. Quickly transforming and driving into the magically expanded garage, Rally greeted her fellow Autobot with a weary glare.

"You are a prize idiot aren't you" she growled as he deactivated his hologram and stood to his full height, towering over everyone so far.

"This is extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary" he exclaimed, looking around.

"Is he ignoring her or is he really fascinated?" Ginny whispered to the newly transformed Drift.

"A little of column A, and little of column B I would imagine" he replied with a snigger.

Before it could erupt into a full scale argument, Drift took Ginny outside: his sister could be scary when she was upset. For a few moments, Ginny just stood and stared at the brightening morning sun. Until the silence was broken by a most unusual statement.

"You're an angry young woman" Drift said, grinning inanely.

"No why would I be angry, I had the boy I've had a thing for almost all my life stolen from me by a shape shifting strumpet and had my heritage and history attacked all within the space of twenty four hours, nothing much" she seethed, turning on the robot.

"Alright don't get your kni-" a wrench suddenly came flying from the back door, striking him on the head.

"You finish that sentence and I shall bolt you down so you can have a nice, long chat with my welding torch" Burnout shouted from the house.

"Primus you are no fun" he shouted back.

"I agree, don't make bad sport here Drift" Gauge shook his finger warningly.

"Just watch your manners and mouth" Rally chimed in, looking very amused by the gang beating her brother was getting.

"What is this?" Drift looked offended at the attacks he was enduring.

"Drift, what are they talking about?" Ginny asked, seeing the potential to enjoy someone else's misery.

"Oh this one, he can charm a femme right out of her plates he can. Got a few of them all over Cybertron. Ironhide and Jazz used to have to chase them out of his quarters so he could go on duty" Rally smirked at her brother's mortified expression.

"I'm sure this is something Ginny wants nothing to know about" Drift was trying to cover up but failing miserably.

"What about that time they caught you with the daughter of the Iacon Governor who'd only come of age about an Earth month before that" Gauge asked, a disapproving grimace gracing his refined features.

"Hey, no charges were ever pressed, and a good time was had by all. I even got a compliment from Jazz" Drift defended.

"Yes, I recall the exact wording of it too: 'You do get into the most stylish kinds of trouble', wasn't it?" she retorted.

"I don't have to stand here and take this abuse" Drift said, a glint entering his eyes.

"What?" Rally suddenly became nervous.

"I seem to recall that time Jazz had to drag Sunstreaker, Inferno and Firestar from _your_ quarters one morning" he shot back.

"We'd spent the evening getting drunk; if Inferno and Firestar decided to interface that's their business. I wouldn't interface with Sunstreaker if my life depended on it!" Rally's voice got louder as she spoke, an unmistakable colouration on her face.

'She's blushing?' Ginny wondered how that would happen.

"Suuure, Rally, what ever keeps you in stasis at night" he said, grinning.

By now Ginny was holding her sides and on her knees, laughing loudly. The banter between the two siblings reminding her of her family, especially Fred and George with Burnout and Gauge providing the stabilising influence of a father or uncle.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself" Drift grumbled at the red faced girl.

"Oh shut up, she comes from a family with six brothers, and she's the youngest and a girl. She'll have heard worse easily from them" Rally chuckled, patting her brother on the shoulder strut.

"Yeah, I remember some of the stories my father was telling Charlie and Bill on their twenty first birthdays. Very, graphic" Ginny recalled with a small amount of red touching her cheeks.

"Ginny, how real is the threat that Lord Voldemort poses to you all" Burnout's sudden question brining the good mood down.

"Very. I don't know a lot about it, since it all finished a year before I was born, thanks to Harry and his parents. All I can tell you is that the people are terrified of him, paralysed by it" she explained as best she could.

Burnout said nothing more, images of Iacon City burning and a tall silver spectre with eyes as red as those of the chaos bringer and a spark just as dark. Sighing he walked over to Ginny and looked at her, his own jade optics looked down to her own eyes.

"If that is true, I must speak with Dumbledore, today. Will you take me to see him please?" he asked.

"Sure" Ginny felt that if Harry and Dumbledore could trust them, so could she.

Burnout transformed to vehicle mode, explaining that Ginny had to straddle him like she would a broom. Feeling decidedly strange, Ginny did as she was asked. Burnout created a force field to help her stay on as she gingerly gripped the handle bars.

"Just don't try to steer and we'll be fine" he muttered, kick starting his engine.

Before any of the three other Autobots could protest, Burnout sped out of the yard, towards the awakening Hogsmeade and towards Hogwarts. If Ginny thought riding with Drift was exciting, riding with Burnout was incredible: wind in her hair and the noise of the engine filling her ears and making her blood race. The trip didn't take long, and soon they were sitting outside of Hogwarts main doors.

"Okay, go and get Dumbledore" Burnout instructed.

"Okay" she dismounted the motorbike and saw a hologram of a man around her father's age on the seat.

Seeing that it seemed most of the school was still asleep or inside, no one saw the appearance of Burnout's hologram. Ginny took one last look at how the Autobot saw himself as a human; she jogged inside and headed for the Great Hall.

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The Great Hall was still abuzz with activity regarding Harry and Draco's verbal in the hallways. With that suitable distraction, Ginny stuck her head in to see if Dumbledore was there. Seeing he wasn't she made her way towards his office to check there.

"Oh what was that blasted password again?" she wondered aloud.

"Something I can help you with, Ms. Weasley?" the soft and comforting tones of Albus Dumbledore made Ginny spin around.

"Oh, Professor there you are" she said.

"Indeed, here I am" Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, um, Burnout is waiting for you outside, he needs to speak to you. It sounds urgent" Ginny imparted the message.

"Indeed, where is our other worldly friend exactly?" Dumbledore's eyebrows rose a little.

"Just outside the front doors" Ginny replied, feeling a little, hyper after the two fantastic experiences she'd just had.

"Thank you Ms. Weasley, you be off to the Great Hall and have some breakfast" Dumbledore said in his kindly way before walking away.

Burnout waited patiently, only having to shoo away a few curious young children who'd never seen a motorbike before and outright threaten one irritating young woman who kept hitting on him.

'Teenagers' he thought with disdain.

"Ah, Mr. Burn, a pleasure" Dumbledore called from the steps, assigning an appropriate sounding name.

"Professor Dumbledore, it has been too long" Burnout replied, shaking Dumbledore's hand.

"We must speak in private, Professor, is there a place with no eavesdroppers?" Burnout asked.

"No one can here us here. What is wrong?" he asked.

"I have been considering something: this Lord Voldemort is a threat to you and all you hold dear isn't he?" Burnout asked, head hung low.

"Yes, he is. As you may know, I have formed the Order of the Phoenix to fight him" Dumbledore conjured himself a stool to sit upon.

"Your government does not fight him?" he asked, curious.

"Not as effectively. Our previous minister, Cornelius Fudge, denied the existence of Voldemort until he saw him with his own eyes. Our new minister is better, but they are playing catch up" Dumbledore admitted.

"That then brings me to offer this then: me and the others, we'll help you as best we can" Burnout declared, looking Dumbledore in the eyes.

"You offer your allegiance to a fight that is not your own, while I appreciate it, may I ask why?" the old Wizard had long learnt never to take anything at face value.

"Voldemort is not as unique as you might think, and there was a time where I chose what was easy. Here, I wish to choose what is right. When would be a good time to, introduce ourselves to the rest of your little militia?" Burnout replied, a sad look passing over his optics.

"Well, the Christmas break starts in a month and most of them well be at Number 12, but it is a little cramped there so perhaps I can convince Molly to hold it at the Burrow" Dumbledore said with a nod.

"Very well, provide me with the location and I shall begin the preparations" Burnout again started his engine.

With a quick imparting of the information he sought, Dumbledore bid the small but wise Transformer a goodbye and watched as he sped from the grounds, kicking up dirt and stones as he went, the occasional whoop of an enthusiastic student as he went past. The elderly headmaster stood still for a moment, contemplating what Burnout had said.

"It does astound me the common threads that seem to traverse the universe" Dumbledore said with an ironic smile.


	15. Chapter 15

Burnout's ride back to the base was a sobering one: he'd just committed himself, and the others, to a cause not of their own choosing. With a sardonic grin he realised they had been committed since they pulled Harry and Tonks from underneath the rubble.

"Rally, Drift. It's me. I want you two and Gauge in the base when I get back: we have something to discuss" he said, his tone grave.

"That is a worrying tone of voice" Drift muttered.

"Ominous indeed, might be in for a bad show" Gauge muttered on the same line.

"Save the chatter til I get there, and is she's available get Tonks as well" Burnout snapped.

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Dennis hit the training mat with a resounding thud, and was reasonably sure his shoulder would be black and blue the next day. Above him, Tonks was ginning inanely. Other students milled around in white Judo uniforms, wincing as Dennis got up again.

"Unarmed combat training will separate the wheat from the chaff" one of the instructors said with a smile.

Dennis again charged at Tonks, who responded with fluid and practiced movements: she grabbed his left arm with her left hand and yanked him forward, driving her knee into this stomach. Again, Dennis was chewing a canvas sandwich with pride relish.

'Man, this is one amazing chick…as soon as I'm out of the probationary period, I'm gonna ask her out' Dennis thought as he limped off the mat, a few of his mates slapping him on the back.

"Okay, who's next" Tonks asked with a grin, her hair a short bob in a burnt orange today.

"How about me love?" a voice rang out over the training hall.

'Oh sweet Merlin will this dick head ever get the message?' she wondered as Stephen sauntered onto the mat.

A tense atmosphere took hold of the training area. Dennis gave Stephen a dirty look as he smirked at Tonks in what he thought was a seductive manner. Tonks in turn struggled to keep down her day's food. Stephen took a relaxed stance, as if he considered Tonks no threat to him.

'Arrogant prick' Kingsley thought, watching from the sidelines.

Kingsley decided he'd watch: Tonks had a knack for giving morons like Stephen a taste of humble pie, and it always made for good watching. He remembered with mirth his own taste of the Tonks Special. Much like now they'd squared off in the ring and although more respectful than Stephen, he'd underestimated her and suffered a cracked rib and a bruised hip bone for his troubles.

'Ah there it is' Kingsley thought as he saw Tonks use a law officer lock to break Stephen's wrist.

Stephen was led off the mat amidst curses and oaths of retribution: all of which affected Tonks about as much as wet lettuce slaps to the face. Applause echoed in the hall as Tonks took a bow from the appreciative and impressed crowds. Seeing as it was nearing the end of the day, Tonks jogged over to the division supervisor, a large man named Dobbs who had been observing the other trainees.

"Ah hello Officer Tonks" he said, ticking some boxes.

"Hey boss, listen, I was wondering if my Christmas leave had been approved?" she asked.

"Um, yeah it was actually. Sadly due to a new policy, it's only at three quarter's pay" he grimaced sympathetically.

"When the hell did that happen?" she asked indignantly.

"About two hours ago, handed down from the Under Secretary herself. You know, that dodgy Umbridge cow" he muttered with a sour look.

Tonks' eyes narrowed with a look of malice. Harry had told her about that barbaric and racist woman; using Cutting Quills on students as young as eleven and pushing propaganda. Dobbs noticed the look and chuckled.

"Seems as if you're none too fond of her" he said.

"I've heard things…none of them good" Tonks alluded.

"Well, you'll get no argument from me that she's an interfering old cow. Any way, that leave was approved, all two weeks of it, starting after another month" he said with a grin.

"Thanks boss" Tonks practically bounded away and out the door.

Harry's school holidays started on Monday, she wanted to try and spend some time with him at Number 12, before he went to the Burrow for Christmas. She remembered with some trepidation that Ginny currently held the cards on how things would progress now.

'Merlin I don't ask for much, but, let this stay reasonably secret…for a while longer at least' she thought, pulling her Weird Sister's shirt on.

A slight ringing noise in her ear made her twitch, her comm. unit.

"Not now I'm at work" she hissed after making sure no one was around.

"Don't talk: just listen. We intend to join your Order of the Phoenix and reveal ourselves to them. We will be meeting at The Burrow, December 30th and I need to talk to you: come to base after work" Burnout gave her no chance for a reply and signed off.

Blinking in confusion, Tonks shrugged and continued to get dressed, grabbing a pair of black leggings and a denim skirt from her locker and pulling them on. A pair of black knee length boots rounding off her ensemble if clothes. Tonks stopped in front of a mirror and contemplated her hair. It had taken her a good few years to get her face the way she liked it but she always had fun with her hair.

'Hmm, I'm in a bit of a funny mood…so what colours shall we have' Tonks cycled through the rainbow on her head, her tongue poking out of her mouth in concentration.

Eventually she decided for long hair, down to her lower back, making it plait itself. For the colour she chose lilac and silver stripes. After turning on her feet and walking out of the change room, tripping on a plant pot as she turned left.

'This is a curse, I'm bloody sure of it' she thought with a grumble.

After picking herself up and losing a small portion of her dignity at the same time, Tonks walked out of the Auror office and went into the main lobby of the Ministry of Magic. It had of course been repaired since Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel but for Tonks, there was still something broken about the place.

Stopping by the pool, she recalled this was where Harry had fought off Voldemort's psychological assault. Dumbledore mentioned with mirth that Harry had, as the Muggle's say 'sunk the boot in' to the Dark Lord with some pretty hard truths.

'Truth is often a compelling weapon' she mused, kneeling down and gently stroking the stones.

With a sigh, she stood up and continued to the elevator that would take her to the Apparation point. The lift was nearly full of workers on their way home. Tonks shot a nod to another Auror she knew. After slapping an old wizard who saw fit to pinch her bum, Tonks walked to the Apparation point; concentrating hard on the Safe House, she disappeared with a pop.

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Rally and Drift were staring at Burnout with a mix of surprise and confusion. Gauge wasn't really fussed on the decision itself and looked disinterested. Burnout had just informed all three of them of the agreement to which he had just entered with Dumbledore.

"You're not happy about my decision are you?" Burnout asked.

"Actually I'm surprised _you_ made the offer at all. Rally and I thought we'd have to twist your arm servo to agree to this" Drift said.

"Yes well I proved you wrong didn't I" Burnout retorted, extracting some Energon from the small refinery they'd managed to build.

Rally turned her head at the popping noise that signalled Tonks' arrival to their small base. Smiling, she went over to Tonks and (as best she could) high five'd with the smaller woman.

"Wotcher, Rally. Burnout, what happened to 'keep this between us'?" she asked jokingly.

"Since a good section of your little militia knows about us already, I figured we may as well make the relationship formal on our terms rather than those of circumstance" he said.

Rally suddenly went very quiet. Remus was a member of this Order of the Phoenix, and she'd forgotten too. Drift picked up on his sister's nervousness but said nothing: he knew what was now causing her CPUs to run at a trillion cycles per microsecond. Tonks on the other hand, didn't know why and asked.

"Rally, you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think some of my processors are locked up, gives me something not unlike a headache" she lied.

"Okay" Tonks shrugged, even her trained ears and eyes couldn't pick up the lie she'd just been told.

"So you're really going to help us fight him, are you?" Tonks asked.

"Oh yeah, I've been a very busy bot since I got back this morning" Burnout allowed a smug look to cross his face.

He outlined his activities: he'd been collecting raw materials and other equipment for the things he was building and had sent Rally and Drift cruising RAF bases looking for a third alternate mode for Gauge. He was equally happy to announce that he got one: the Panavia Tornado fighter jet.

"I've heard of fighter jets but I've never seen one before" Tonks admitted when she heard that.

"Indeed, I have some other, items, to bring to the cause so don't fear. Every dirty trick I know, every science I command, is yours" Burnout said with a grin.

"Great: I wanted to spend some time with Harry before he went to the Burrow" Tonks said sourly.

"Well what day does term start?" Rally asked.

"January 1st I think" she said, looking grumpy.

"When does term finish?" Drift saw his sister's plan.

"December the 18th…Oh, I get it" Tonks suddenly got the joke and felt a little silly.

"Awww, isn't that cute, she's embarrassed" Rally chuckled as the look of dawning hit Tonks' face….

…Tonks responded by throwing a stone at Rally's head.

"So yeah, you'll be fine. He can come down here, you two can go clubbing in Glasgow or picnic in the country…or something" Drift said, fidgeting.

"Why are you twitching and who the hell are you?" Tonks suddenly realised that she didn't recognise the fourth Transformer in the room.

"Oh yes, my dear, my name is Gauge, triplechanger, and gentlebot" he bowed to her.

"Right…Merlin this is getting weirder by the minute. You know what; it's a weekend for me now, so I need a scotch. Done" Tonks held her hands up and walked inside.

"What do you suppose meeting this Order will be like?" Gauge asked.

"I don't know. The term militia is right; they aren't an officially sanctioned force. The Wizard world itself has no organised Military and with due respect to Tonks, I'm not ready to call the Auror's a truly effective law enforcement agency" Burnout muttered, taking stock of what he had to do, wishing he had someone to help him.

"So we've basically got to turn the local members of the Sector Monitors into combat troops?" Drift said with obvious disdain.

"There will be some exceptions to that, but for the most part…I imagine yes" Burnout nodded.

"Picking apart my very values and society again Burnout?" Tonks asked, dressed more casually with a glass of scotch in her hand.

"No, just the small band of brave nutters Dumbledore has assembled to fight this mad bastard" he returned her sarcasm.

"You concede we're brave, big of you" she sniped, taking a sip of her drink.

"Well you are, but aside from a few of you being Aurors, and Dumbledore himself: we aren't dealing with warriors or soldiers here" Burnout rubbed his brow.

"Make the best of what you've got, adapt and change" Tonks remembered something Moody said to her once.

"Good motto, as long as everyone else shares that view we should be fine" were Burnout's last words before he went for recharge.

"Gauge, I want you to do me a favour" Tonks caught his attention by calling out.

"Yes m'lady?" he said, ever being the dapper gentlebot.

"I'm worried that Voldemort might, try something on the train ride home. I want you to protect them, the students" Tonks hadn't voiced her opinion of that to anyone in the Order.

"It will be a sad and terrible thing for these, Death Eaters to attack us on the way home. For if they do I shall send them to the Pit" Tonks was a little taken aback to see Gauge loose his stately tone of voice.

"Thank you" she said, giving him a pat on the leg.

Tonks made her way out back, the whole yard covered by a concealment charm that made it appear empty but pleasant. Tonks sat down in a deck chair, enjoying the sun that took the bite off the winter air. The scotch made a warm trail down her throat as she took another sip.

"Hey sister" Tonks turned and saw Rally sit down, a small beaker in her hand.

"Hey Rally, what's that?" Tonks pointed to the beaker, that she noticed also had a straw like tube in it.

"It could very well be likened to that alcohol you have there. This is Energon: a sort of fusion of blood and water. We consume it for energy and without it we die. However, when refined right and with the correct additions it creates a potent and CPU altering liquid, we call it High Grade" she said, taking the tube into her mouth and imbibing.

"Well, cheers then" Tonks held her glass up, explaining the custom.

"Cheers indeed my friend" Rally replied and gently tapped her beaker against Tonks' glass.

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Harry was determined: he wouldn't be going to the Dursley's again. Nor at this stage was he much interested in going to the Burrow. Although he and Ginny seemed to have come to an understanding, their relationship was still strained. Due to this, and Tonks telling him she had some time off starting the same time has his holidays, Harry was now trying to sneak away from the rest of the students and go to the base.

'This would be easier if I could Apparate' he thought sourly as most of the students made their way to Hogsmeade station.

He remembered of course that now the station was staffed by a new Autobot according to Ginny and Tonks. Harry had to contain his mirth: they were becoming the worst kept secret he had. And now, Burnout had decided that he'd sign them up to the Order of the Phoenix full time but he supposed they knew what they were doing…

…After all, he's also seen the recording of Kytanium Plains.

"And I've no desire to see that again, thank you very much" he muttered, discreetly taking a turn towards town.

He was very carefully moving his stuff around to a more secluded area of Hogsmeade where Drift would pick him up. Looking around the almost deserted town, he hid in the backstreet area until he heard a familiar engine rumble.

"Hey Drift, how are you?" he asked as Drift opened his front passenger seat and boot.

"Not too shabby Harry my boy. Did you ditch Dumbledore and co easily enough?" he co-conspirator asked him.

"Yeah, I think so. Unless he's waiting at base for me, we should be sweet" Harry jumped into the passenger seat and put on his belt.

Drift closed the doors and gently rolled away, the five minute journey not worth stretching his energy over. He and Harry talked of small things, none of them very profound.

"Looking forward to seeing Tonks?" Drift asked, a smug tone to his voice.

"You're being awfully smarmy since _you_ were apparently hitting on Ginny, but then I just hear things" Harry smirked.

Drift said nothing but Harry could hear him grumbling in embarrassment and continued to do so until the arrived. Harry dragged his gear inside, thanking Drift for his help. Drift transformed and walked inside, joking with Harry all the way.

"Mate where do you get these foul jokes?" Harry asked with a grin.

"A good few thousand years of time spent only with other mechs and no femmes" he gave Harry the kind of grin that only men have to each other.

"Are you corrupting my boyfriend?" Tonks asked from the doorway, a smouldering smile on her face.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks: Tonks was wearing a yellow shirt that was clearly a couple of sizes too big since the neck had slipped down her left shoulder. Her hair was in chin length curls that Tonks had decided to colour dark green and her eyes she'd made a bright blue.

"Did anyone here that?" Drift asked, trying to contain his glee.

"Hear what?" Rally asked, smiling.

"The sound of Harry's jaw hitting the ground. Best pick it up son; after all, you're going to need it" Drift couldn't contain his laughter and fell down, causing Harry and Tonks to stumble.

"Hey Tonks, is it cold in here or are you glad to see him?" Burnout asked, smirking at his own joke.

There was an angry shout, a pair of confused looks and a red flash of light. When the small amount smoke had cleared, Burnout lay looking dazed on the ground and Tonks' hair had changed to red.

"Git" Harry and Tonks muttered and walked into the lounge room.

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It was late at night: an eerie silence had descended upon the ground of Hogwarts School, now all but abandoned as most of its students had returned home for the holidays. This allowed Onslaught and his men a great amount of freedom in moving about. Currently, he was scanning the large structure.

'Concealed by a distortion field that only allows those with optics attuned to it to see the true shape' he muttered.

His scans were revealing very little. There was heavy interference from what ever was surrounding it. Blast Off was on a long range recon flight and Vortex was exploring the local areas. That had left Onslaught stuck with Brawl and Swindle for company.

'Primus maybe I should slash my main fuel lines and be done with it' he muttered, deactivating the scanner array.

"Anything interesting there boss?" Brawl asked, sidling up to Onslaught.

"Not really, so far as observations and Blast Off and Vortex told me, its an educational facility full of younglings: not of any interest to us" Onslaught muttered as Swindle appeared.

"I doubt there is anything here on this entire ball of mud that's of any interest to us" he sneered disdainfully at the ground as if it offended him.

"Stop your whining Swindle, its Soundwave's fault we're here, so make your complaints to him when we get back" Onslaught muttered.

"I will, I'll give that barbarian bot a piece of my mind when we get back" Swindle said, puffing himself up.

"So how long will that bravado last if the threatens to let Ravage have a go at you?" Brawl asked, brandishing his fighting claws.

"He won't have enough time to get his pets out, I'm just gonna creep up behind him and shiv him in the back" Swindle was growling now.

"You've gone and stirred him up now" Onslaught complained.

"What, don't stand there and play high and thoughtless, Onslaught, I know you were as slagged off as us at Soundwave and Hook for that stunt they pulled" Brawl snarled, angered at his leader's apparent lack of interest.

"We did you duty Brawl, which is expected of us" he returned quietly.

"SLAG" Brawl screamed and in a fit of pique, picked Onslaught up by the shoulders.

"Put me down, now" Onslaught used his 'do it or I'll tear you in half' voice.

"Like Pit I will, you know as well as I, if we knew what Soundwave and Hook were doing, we'd have left them the Autobots for that act of savagery at Kytanium" Brawl hissed.

Swindle looked more than a little worried right now. Onslaught and Brawl often came to blows over various issues. Although this particular issue hadn't raised its head in quite a while and right now looked as if they might come to physical violence because of it.

"Brawl, it is a bit hypocritical for you to stand there and condemn Soundwave for that, after all, your reputation often proceeds you, all of us sometimes" Onslaught took a hold of Brawl's wrists.

"I've never cut a Femme's gestation pod from her guts before, Onslaught, and you know that" the tank hissed at his leader.

Just as Swindle relaxed, feeling that Brawl's words had taken the solar wind out of their leader, Onslaught struck. With quick and efficient movements, Onslaught struck Brawl twice across the face plates with his elbows. Following up with a savage kick his midsection, Onslaught was free of Brawl's grip.

The two circled each other now, like a pair of starving Gladiators whose prize would be a cube of Energon. Swindle, not wanting to get caught up in the violence, stepped back and radioed for Blast Off and Vortex to get to his position ASAP.

With many years of pent up anger and guilt, the two mechs launched themselves at each other and began to rain blows down on one another. In a way it was rather incredible to watch: the Combaticons where among Megatron's most experienced and seasoned soldiers and they're unarmed combat expertise was without compare.

In the end though Brawl was stronger, Onslaught was the smarter fighter and ended up putting Brawl in a Diffusion hold down. Brawl was pretty angry and thrashed around like a wild Turbo-Fox but Onslaught only increased the pressure and caused more pain.

"Settle down, damn it" Onslaught growled to his team mate.

With a small shockwave in the ground alerted Onslaught to the arrival of his two larger comrades. With in a few seconds, he and Brawl were separated, being held by their airborne brethren, Blast Off screaming for calm since he was holding Brawl.

"WHAT THE PIT IS GOING ON?" Vortex asked his leader.

"Nothing, it was a petty disagreement, Vortex. That's all" Onslaught lied.

"That's slag and you know it" Brawl was considerably calmer now, his air intakes working over time to cool his overheated circuits.

"What's he talking about Onslaught?" Blast Off fixed his commander with a stare.

"Tell them damn it, they deserve to know" Brawl shook himself free of Blast Off's grip and stared Onslaught right in the optics.

Onslaught was now faced with a dilemma: normally he and Brawl had kept discussion of the events of Kytanium to themselves. The Autobots had also kept it quiet, or at least very few knew about it because if the whole army had been told, Onslaught was sure the Autobots would have slaughtered them all in a few short cycles afterwards. Now however, on this distant, backwards planet, the keeping of secrets was coming back to bite him on the aft.

'Damn it, damn it to the Pit' he thought.

"Alright, let us return to base and then, all will be made clear" his shoulder struts sagged as he spoke.

They took to the air, their inbuilt anti gravity devices allowing them short bursts of flight in robot mode, an advantage that the Decepticons had held over the Autobots for many millennia. Once they arrived at their camouflaged base, Swindle deactivated the cloaking nodes and the walked inside. The five robots got comfortable; this was going to be a long story.

"This is what took place after Kytanium Plains…" Onslaught began his tale.


	16. Chapter 16

_Location: Planet Cybertron._

_Sector: Western hemisphere._

_Area: Irridum_ _Pass_ _Operations Base, Codenamed Trypticon._

_Date: 2 million years ago._

_Onslaught was beyond furious; he was murderous. Soundwave had sacrificed quite a lot of resources and even some good troops to secure what ever it was he'd secured. Vortex and Blast Off were currently in med bay under Scrapper's tender mercies, and Brawl's very attentive optics._

_Onslaught recalled with some mirth the day an Autobot Femme had been delivered as a prisoner and was sent to Scrapper for a once over. The look Scapper had given the Femme had made him want to hit the wash racks. Before things got too nasty, Brawl had stepped forward and told Scrapper that he'd best be on his most professional behaviour, and if anything unsavoury were to happen to the Femme: Brawl and Blitzwing and Astrotrain would come looking for him…_

…_Onslaught had managed the considerable task of walking from the med bay to the cantina before laughing at the total look of terror that he'd seen on Scrapper's face. Though Brawl had then made an innuendo to the Femme and made her angry it had removed her fear._

"_Anger is preferable to fear, after all" Onslaught repeated Brawl's logic._

_Swindle fell into step beside his commander, telling him Brawl would join them as soon as Blast Off and Vortex were back in the Combaticon barracks. Onslaught muttered stiffly and continued his strong stride to a place he tried to avoid completely if possible: Soundwave and Shockwave's shared laboratory._

"_This place gives me shivers in my frame" Swindle admitted with disgust._

"_I'm not too fond of it either; we should wait for Brawl, he's about the only one Soundwave's deranged pets are afraid of" Onslaught muttered with a bit of pride._

_They didn't have to wait long: Brawl appeared not long after they arrived, saying he'd had Astrotrain and Blitzwing escort their brothers back to their barracks. The news of their safety absorbed, Onslaught whirled around and pounded on the door to the lab with all his might._

"_SOUNDWAVE YOU PIT SPAWN, OPEN THIS DOOR" Onslaught hollered, attracting some attention from the other Scientists._

"_Excuse me, we're trying to work here" a small mech named Vector spoke up in a trill voice._

"_Unless you want some of this, spanky, get lost" Brawl didn't even look and raised his arm with his fighting blades on it, pointing them towards the diminutive Decepticon._

_With a terrified squawk, the scientist ran away; Swindle chuckling as Onslaught again pounded on the door, either oblivious or disinterested in Brawl's behaviour. This time his persistence was rewarded and Soundwave opened the door, staring blankly at his 'fellow' Decepticons._

"_State your business" he said flatly, staring straight at Onslaught._

"_What frag is going on, Soundwave? What the Pit did you get from Kytanium that was worth all that time, troops and equipment?" Onslaught barrelled into the lab, Brawl and Swindle flanking him._

"_My mission: not your concern" Soundwave ejected Ravage as he spoke._

"_Back off you little rodent" Brawl trained a canon on Ravage, daring him to attack._

"_So, I'll ask again, what did you get from Kytanium? I noticed you got Hook and Long Haul out there, so what ever it was needed to be transported carefully" Onslaught moved forward, getting right in Soundwave's face._

"_You did your duty, and I did mine. That is all you are required to know" Soundwave turned to leave._

_Moving at almost light speed, Onslaught grabbed Soundwave and roughly shoved him into a wall. Ravage tried to intervene but found himself pinned by Brawl's claw. Swindle quickly shut the door to keep the tussle private and unseen by roving optics._

"_Don't lubricate in my subspace pocket and then tell me I'm leaking, Soundwave. I don't have a lot of scruples, and Brawl has even less than I. However, If I find out what you have there is either worthless or obtained through obscene means, I'd start recharging with one optic online" Onslaught hissed._

"_Soundwave, Onslaught. Do what do I owe the honour of this debate of philosophy?" all heads turned to the owner of the new voice._

"_Bonesaw, what are you doing here?" Onslaught asked, surprised to see Megatron's personal physician at this base._

"_Considering Soundwave's little find at Kytanium, Megatron saw fit to dispatch me here. I am after all the Head of the Decepticon_ _Medical_ _Academy_ _so such things should go to me anyway" he said, giving Soundwave a pointed look._

"_And what was his little find?" Swindle asked, leaning insolently against a console._

"_None of your concern._ _Now all four of you get out, I have work to do" Bonesaw gestured to the door._

_Not wanting to cross Megatron's own doctor, Onslaught and the other Combaticons left the room. Soundwave retrieved Ravage, gently trying to sooth his wounded pride by attending to Ravage's own injuries. Bonesaw was unsympathetic to Soundwave's request to remain in the lab and was ejected with little ceremony._

_With an exhumation of air from his cooling system, Bonesaw walked back to the main area of the laboratory. In its centre sat what for any doctor would be like finding the Spark of Primus. A fully functional and usable Spark Gestation Pod. Yet, Bonesaw had observed Soundwave's video of its removal and acquisition and despite his own history, something had stirred._

'_Primus forgive me, I'm treading into your domain here and I probably shouldn't…but, orders are orders" Bonesaw muttered._

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_Swindle wasn't convinced everything was present and correct with what Soundwave and Bonesaw were up to. Megatron didn't send the top medical expert all the way from the contested Iacon area to a rear staging ground unless there was something for him to do that no one else could._

'_They're up to something, something big' he thought as he entered the seedy building._

_He'd travelled to a large neutral area a few clicks away from Trypticon: a hang out for Gladiators and deserters and spies. It wasn't uncommon to see both Autobot and Decepticon drinking at the same tables in places like this; after all, traitors had to stick together._

"_Evening Hookshot, anything interesting happen while I was away?" he asked, flicking a small credit disk at the proprietor._

"_Swindle you spawn of a glitch, nah, nothing too interesting. Grimlock was here partying with some buddies from the Arenas, wearing Autobot sigils he is now" the old mech replied with a snide tone._

"_Hmm, the Arena's biggest, and most brutal current champion fighting for the Light and what's right. Will wonders never cease?" Swindle chuckled as he scanned the bar._

_Swindle was searching for one of his most reliable sources of information within the Autobots ranks: a Femme named Backdraft. In fairness, Swindle operated on a quid pro quo basis with her. She told him the various comings and goings of Autobot leaders and senior officers and he told her about strikes that might affect the neutral sanctuaries and recovery zones. It was probably the only deal he had that wasn't weighted in his favour._

"_Hello sweet-" Swindle was cut off with a massive slap to the faceplates._

"_I'm not sure I deserved that" Swindle said, rubbing his face._

"_YOU PIT SPAWN" Backdraft shrieked in a voice that could strip paint._

'_Why Blitzwing wants to sleep with her has just been made clear to me' he thought as he studied the look on her face._

"_Backdraft, what's going on?" Swindle was used to seeing unimpressed or annoyed from her: not murderous._

"_Backdraft, what happened?" sometimes he'd given her inaccurate information that had lead to some close calls, if he'd been outright wrong…._

…_Then it hit him, Kytanium. There hadn't been any major engagements in the whole southern sector after that._

"_What do you mean what happened, Swindle, your friend Soundwave has committed a huge affront, and believe me, he'll pay for it" she hissed._

_Swindle thought quickly and grabbed her, slinging her over his shoulder strut and charged upstairs to the 'private rooms'. Passing a few desperate and sorry looking Bots and Femmes, he threw her in the nearest empty one and locked the door._

"_You stay in there, and calm down. I've got some debts to collect and a few more spires to shake. When I'm done, we'll talk" he said._

_Swindle bounded down the stairs quickly, on his way out he grabbed one of the guards, an ex-Gladiator named Treads. Swindle slipped him a few credits and a promise of a visit to a clean, high class Interface House with its best Femme if he kept Backdraft in that room until he got back._

'_Okay Swindle, focus, you've got credits to collect and a favour to set up. Work your skill chips' he thought, heading to the office a nearby arms dealer._

_It took him the better part of the cycle to get all his business done. After getting his credits from Calibre the arms dealer (Defence Merchant, he always insisted) Swindle had quickly gone to the Interface House and squared an appointment for Treads with their best Femme with the owner. After hitting up a few of the gambling and other illicit trade areas of the city, Swindle had a fair swag of credits at his disposal. With a resolve strengthening intake of air, he entered the bar._

"_Treads, is Backdraft still in her room?" he asked._

"_Yep, don't think she's not made a Primus damned racket though. You interface her creator or something Swindle?" he asked with a rough voice._

"_When you drop in and see Sylicon tomorrow, Treads, just remember that she's a high class Femme, not a back airlock scrapper and behave" Swindle ignored Treads comment and got two of the best cubes of Energon that Hookshot could lay his hands on._

"_Best of luck Swindle, she spent the better part of her waiting for you period simmering like molten metal" Hookshot warned._

"_If I should die, Hookshot, just tell Onslaught that he was right" Swindle said cryptically._

_Paying for his Energon, Swindle walked upstairs and prepared to possibly meet his maker. He hadn't ever read the Book of Primus, but he was reasonably sure that he'd be sipping Energon with the Chaos Bringer for all the shameless profiteering that he'd done. Gently, he knocked on the door, coming out of his religious ponderings._

"_Backdraft, I have two of the best Energon cubes in the house. If you're not going to kill me, I want to come in so you can tell me what the Pit is going on" Swindle said._

"_Come in" Backdraft sounded tired, and upset._

_Swindle opened the door and wasn't surprised to see the room trashed. The berth was broken in several pieces and the other furniture was basically scrapped. Backdraft sat in a corner, looking ragged._

"_You don't normally greet me with a punch to the head, so imbibe this and tell me what has you so wound up" he handed her the larger of the cubes._

"_You were at Kytanium with your buddy Soundwave, Swindle, you should know" she accused._

"_Okay first of all, I'd sooner let Brawl do surgery on me than be Soundwave's buddy. I was there because that Sparkless fragger requested a Commando unit, and we were on our rotation down here" Swindle's fuel pump was starting to constrict._

"_You genuinely don't know what I'm talking about?" it was Backdraft's turn to be confused now._

"_I swear by my quarterly profit margin that I have no idea what the frag you are talking about" Swindle held one hand up, the others resting on his ledgers._

"_Well, since that's as close to a leap of faith you're willing to make: here it is" she paused and drained her cube._

"_One of the Femme's at Kytanium, Detonate her name was. Soundwave killed her. And while you and your brothers were fighting her team, Soundwave had removed her Spark Gestation Pod, that's what Long Haul was carrying" she was staring at him now, evaluating his reaction._

_The fuel in his main line may as well have been frozen solid. Swindle dropped the cube and stood up. Onslaught suspected something untoward had happened at Kytanium and now he knew. It also made sense regarding Bonesaw's appearance._

"_Oh slag" Swindle bolted for the door: he had to contact Onslaught._

"_Going somewhere Swindle?" a cool voice stopped him in his tracks._

'_Oh Primus' Swindle turned around._

_Prowl was a respected Autobot, a brilliant tactician and before the war he'd been a Law Enforcer at Iacon. Thankfully they were in Neutral territory and Prowl couldn't arrest him as a Prisoner of War. However, if he had enough evidence, he could always have the local authorities arrest him instead and that was not an option right now._

"_Prowl, sorry, I don't have time to stop and play games, gotta run" Swindle hoped to the Pit that Ironhide or Bluestreak weren't with him._

"_I heard every word of that conversation" Prowl hadn't moved or even twitched a digit._

"_Oh, good._ _What do you want?" Swindle was getting edgier by the second._

"_I know enough about you and your small group to know that Brawl and Onslaught would have killed Soundwave themselves for what he did. I also know what it is being used for" Prowl moved forward slowly._

"_How do you know?" Swindle asked, backing away, only to bump into someone._

_Before Swindle could turn around he was rendered offline by who ever stood behind him. As he hit the ground with a clang, Prowl regarded the other Cybertronian with cold, distant eyes. The stare was returned with equal chill._

"_Only Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and myself know about this so far. Red Alert will probably just have finished being informed of this now, as head of our Intelligence divisions" Prowl explained._

"_Good, I'll make my way across the borders when I return to Iacon, the Pod will be destroyed mysteriously at some point. And this one, will provide a perfect diversion" the other mech regarded Swindle._

"_Why?" Prowl asked, genuinely curious._

"_When he comes online, he'll contact Onslaught about this and then they'll all go and confront Soundwave for it. With any luck, it will divert attention away from me enough to make it to Autobot territory" he replied._

"_Very well, I'll meet you at the rendezvous point at the agreed time and date" Prowl finished and walked out, the defector not far behind him_

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_Backdraft_ _stayed hidden, but knew that her agreement with Swindle was pretty much at an end. If she got a trial, it would most likely be for treason or at least collusion. However, Swindle was clearly on to something within his own faction: Prowl very rarely met with a deserter, so he must have been very high up in the Decepticon hierarchy._

'_Okay, they're gone now' she thought and left the room._

"_What ever is going on Swindle, looks like you're in the middle of it" she muttered and knelt down to bring him back online._

"_Did anyone get the frequency of that asteroid?" Swindle muttered, his processors and memory chips a little shaken from the impact._

"_I didn't recognise the other voice. I recognised Prowl, so more than likely I'll have some explaining to do when I get back to Iacon" she muttered._

"_I have an idea who the other bot was, but for now, it's not my concern. I've got to get back" Swindle stumbled to his feet, panic lacing his voice._

"_You're injured" Backdraft pointed out._

"_Yeah, so what's your point?" Swindle slurred as he hit the bar, asking for something stimulating._

"_You got back now, you could get picked off by snipers or attacked by a patrol" she tried to reason with him._

"_No sale, I'm out of here" Swindle drained his Energon and ran outside._

_With a quick thought, he transformed to his all terrain cruiser mode. With a roar of engines he was off across the still plains between him and Trypticon. All the while his knowledge was turning over in his head: damn that fragger for knocking him out before Prowl mentioned what the Pod was for._

"_Swindle to Trypticon base, respond" he radioed as soon as he was able to lock onto the carrier wave._

"_This is Skywarp here Swindle, what do you want?" a voice asked._

"_Put me through to Onslaught immediately, it's urgent" Swindle spoke fast, increasing his movement speed to its highest speed._

"_C'mon Swindle, you know Onslaught don't like being disturbed when he's in a planning session with Motormaster" Skywarp was half right: no one liked to disturb the special forces or urban combat commanders in a planning session: it never ended well._

"_DO IT FRAG YOU" Swindle bellowed, letting his Combaticon programming do the talking._

"_Do you have a message or something, so it's your cranial he tears off rather than mine?" Skywarp retorted slowly, not used to Swindle sounding like his brothers._

"_Tell him, he was right about Kytanium. He'll know what that means" Swindle said, knowing that would get his attention._

"_Okay" Skywarp put Swindle on hold after clearing him for entry._

_Onslaught and Motormaster had a professional relationship: they didn't like each other but held each other's talents in high regards. Indeed Onslaught often found Motormaster and his methods of discipline to be boorish and uncivilised and in turn Motormaster found Onslaught to be a boring soft touch._

"_Onslaught, um-" Skywarp began but was cut off._

"_I swear to Primus, Skywarp, that unless someone I respect is dying, or the secret to the meaning of life or a way to make an eternally lasting oil bath with femmes, I will remove your head and use it for an agility ball" Onslaught said, making Motormaster snigger._

"_Swindle has a message for you: all he said was 'You were right about Kytanium' or something like that" Skywarp squeaked and terminated the communication._

_Onslaught stopped moving entirely. His processors began to move at light speed, mainly contemplating what he would do next. A vast number of his plans involved molten metal, Soundwave and several cubes of High Grade. He settled for letting out a snarl._

"_Excuse me, Motormaster. We'll have to settle this later" Onslaught got up from his desk and left the room._

"_Please yourself" Motormaster shrugged._

"_Onslaught to all Combaticons, assemble in the science wing on the double" Onslaught was moving with purpose: and that was to hurt Soundwave, as much as possible._

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_The science wing is normally quiet and reserved and full of intelligent, civilised (according to rumour) mechs. So when three of Megatron's most elite combat unit stomped into the wing, something was up._

"_Where are Blast Off and Vortex?" Brawl asked._

"_Away on a mission, besides, Vortex may be an expert interrogator with an optic for weakness and the youngling like lunacy to drive them crazy, but this would tweak him out a little, he loves sparklings" Onslaught muttered as he punched in a security override to Soundwave's lab._

_The three large Combaticons entered the room, looking to kill. Soundwave and Shockwave's shared lab was divided into three distinct sections. The first was general research and indulgent personal pursuits. The second was the R&D lab where they developed new weaponry and tactical equipment for the Decepticon military. The third was their inner sanctum: a lab so well equipped that it made all their colleagues jealous and also very few rules._

"_Open the door, Soundwave. Right now" Onslaught was going to try tact first._

"_We are busy, Onslaught. Return at a later date" Soundwave's monotone replied with the worst combination of words he could have chosen._

"_Brawl, front and centre" Onslaught motioned to his heavy hitter._

_With a malicious glint in his optics, Brawl walked up to the door and began gently prodding it. Once satisfied with the assessment he removed some small cubes from a compartment on his left leg. He placed them on the door and stepped back: without ceremony he sent the signal that triggered the breaching explosives._

"_Nicely done Brawl" Onslaught complimented, stepping over the ruined door._

"_Explanation required" Soundwave was as close to livid as he could sound._

"_Megatron will have your heads for this Onslaught" Shockwave hissed, eyes ablaze with fury._

"_What are you working on Soundwave?" Onslaught asked._

"_Security teams, inbound. Incarceration, imminent" Soundwave replied._

_Brawl was growing tired of the banter and stepped forward. With a detached air he stabbed Shockwave in the face with his fighting claw, bringing the scientist to his knees, screaming in agony._

"_If you don't answer his question, I will do that to you" Brawl stated._

"_We require soldiers" Soundwave decided to buy time by cryptically revealing parts of his assignment._

"_I'm aware of this Soundwave, but recruiting is a delicate process" Onslaught was confused, his analytical mind working overtime to unravel Soundwave's plan._

"_Swindle, share with us please your information" Onslaught motioned for his team money spinner to talk._

"_You took a Spark Gestation Pod, Soundwave. There are few tactical uses for that save as a psychological attack. What are you doing with it?" Swindle asked, shaking._

"_As I said, we require soldiers" Soundwave repeated._

_The pieces suddenly fell into place for the three commandos. With a might punch, Brawl rendered Soundwave into stasis lock and all three made a charge for the sealed off area and ripped it open. It is fair to say that Decepticons are without many scruples and Onslaught would admit as much to anyone that asked. However, he and his team were soldiers and consummate professionals when it counted and this kind of madness sickened them._

_Sat on a table was what they presumed was a Decepticon Femme, she was partially disassembled and the pilfered Pod had been melded to her. Onslaught saw all the programming samples along the wall. Donated no doubt with Scrapper or Hook's devious assistance._

'_If we live through this part, we'll pay those glorified service droids a visit too, bring Blitzwing and Astrotrain too' Onslaught diverted his attention to Brawl._

_Brawl was a violent mech, most would say mentally unstable. This was partially true since he thrived on combat, thinking of it as an art form to be perfected than a job to be done. He enjoyed it too and that was enough to make Onslaught agree that Brawl was a little crazy but he wasn't so crazy he'd condone this._

"_Brawl, are you alright?" Onslaught asked gently._

_Brawl stepped forward, a strangely blank look in his visor. The Femme was clearly receiving an exceptional amount of pain dulling but anguish and fear were displayed loud and clear on her face. In an unusually gentle gesture, he reached out and gently caressed the Femme's face._

"_Please, release me from this" she begged, not sure or not caring who she was speaking to._

_Brawl looked down at his claw: his most prized weapon and favourite to use on an enemy. A quick scan indicated that all it would take was on quick stab: right between the optics. Before he could hesitate further, he draw his fist back, withdrawing one blade from the dual bladed array and thrust it forward. The Cybertanium vibro blade cut through her weakened armour._

"_That is no way for a Decepticon to live" he said, carefully withdrawing the blade so as not to cause more damage._

"_I agree, now Swindle what other information did your contact give you?" Onslaught turned to his angry looking black marketeer._

"_None, I got knocked out by whoever was there to see Prowl. She may have had more for me but I had to get back here fast" he answered, taking a recording of all that he saw._

"_Freeze" a cold voice sounded behind them._

_Onslaught turned to see Runabout and Runamuck and some other security officers. He regarded them with a cold stare and contemptuous posture, Brawl and Swindle mimicking him._

"_You're under arrest" Runabout declared._

_Before another word could be uttered, a loud explosion ripped through the lab area, burying most the Combaticons and the stasis locked bodies of Shockwave and Soundwave in rubble._

_Onslaught remembered onlining in a cell, all his team there. What came next had been a show trial of the worst kind. False evidence and testimony and in true Decepticon style, a cover up of an operation that while against the principals of most of Megatron's army had his full blessing. Vortex and Blast Off had been arrested as a matter of course but earned some legitimate charges when they both beat the security team to within an inch of going offline. At no time were the two absent members of his team told what had happened._

"_Your sentence for this act of assault and damage is imprisonment in an incorporeal state" Onslaught remembered Megatron's chilling judgement._

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"The rest of it you both know. We never did find out who planted the explosives but at this point it should be rather obvious who it was" Onslaught finished his story, glaring tiredly at Brawl.

"By Unicron's hand…why are we hunting that mech, I say we report that he's not here and get out of his backwater world" Blast Off was livid.

"As would I, sadly, our ship had its intel ghosted back to the main base. Megatron knows he's here and that he and we survived" Swindle muttered sourly.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS?" Vortex bellowed; his optic bar blazing.

"Because I knew what it would do to you. You were never the same after prison and I feared that the information would have sent you permanently insane" Onslaught said, not taking much notice of Vortex's anger.

Shaking and intakes working over time, Vortex ran out of their hiding spot, transformed and took off. Blast Off went to follow but Brawl stopped him, shaking his head.

"He needs some alone time, figure this out in his CPU. He'll come back" Swindle reasoned.

"Indeed" Onslaught stood and looked out at the surrounding countryside.

"Where are you Bonesaw, you glitch' he thought maliciously.


	17. Chapter 17

Harry was pretty sure Mrs. Weasley was going spare right about now. Poor Ron would undoubtedly be getting a real tongue lashing right now for losing him, Hermione too probably.

"I can probably redeem myself if I pay for their wedding" Harry said, gently caressing Tonks' ankle.

"Whose wedding?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Ron and Hermione's, as an apology for the soul destroying bollocking their getting right now I reckon" he said with a smile.

"Do you really see those two married, Harry?" Tonks asked.

"Sometimes you see couples in the halls at school and you think, they'll chuckle over this with beers in twenty years time. With Ron and Hermione, you see the future. At least I do anyway" Harry muttered.

"What about you and me, what do you see there?" Tonks asked, feeling only a little bad for putting him on the spot.

Harry took a moment to contemplate his answer, absently stroking Tonks' feet as he thought. Harry wasn't sure if perhaps he saw the future, like with Hermione and Ron, or if he saw the beautiful memory on the path of love. Thinking he could do nothing else, Harry spoke the truth.

"I don't know Tonks, what we have is unique. What I do know for certain, is that no matter how long or short this lasts for us, it will remain one of the single most amazing, beautiful and happy times of my entire life. I'll never forget you Tonks, not if I live to be a thousand" Harry looked directly at her as he spoke, planting a kiss on the sole of her foot.

Harry wasn't sure what to expect from Tonks after that. Perhaps a tear of happiness, or one of those huge smiles she gave with a wink for added effect. What ever it was, Harry did not expect laughter, and melodious though the sound was still took him by surprise. Tonks controlled herself long enough to pull herself up so she was straddling Harry, who became very aware of himself.

"A simple, something beautiful, would have sufficed Harry, but thank you anyway" she smiled and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Well, I didn't want to hurt your feelings or have it come out wrong" Harry replied, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Harry, I'm not sixteen and afraid of this not lasting. It would undoubtedly hurt when this ends, but like you, I'll have a memory of something very beautiful" she gently whispered.

"Thanks" Harry rested his head on her chest, his movements slow and deliberate.

"You know, another advantage to not being a sixteen year old girl, Harry, is that I don't mind when my boyfriend grabs my butt or strokes my breasts. That isn't a carte blanche to grope me in public, but when we're alone, like this, you can indulge yourself a little" Tonks gently guided Harry's hands to her backside.

"I just didn't want move too fast" Harry stuttered, gently squeezing her rear end.

"Well Harry, lesson 1 of dating me, is this: keep it clean, but keep it interesting" she said with a grin.

At her use of the word lesson Harry suddenly had a thought pop into his head. He was wearing his Hogwarts uniform, sans the robe and Tonks was wearing a white blouse and black miniskirt. They were both in a classroom at Hogwarts School and Tonks was holding a riding crop.

"Hello, what's crossing your mind then?" Tonks asked, her grin becoming more sensual with every second.

"You, me, school uniforms and a riding crop" he summarised with a straight face.

"Oooooh, were you a naughty boy, Mr. Potter, were you given a verbal reprimand or…detention?" her voice had lowered a bit and become rather husky.

Tonks leaned in and kissed Harry. This was different to every other time she'd done this: there was a hunger here: the soft and mystical feel of their first kiss was no longer there. This kiss could only happen with a couple approaching intimacy like theirs. Tonks' hands began to wonder a little under his shirt and over his chest.

'There is something very, predatory about this' she thought with a little glee: enjoying being the one who was seducing now than being (usually clumsily) seduced.

Tonks could feel Harry's heart beating so hard it might start to damage his ribs. Although the young man was valiantly trying to match her caresses in some way, usually by feeling her butt or rubbing her sides, his innate fears of stuffing up were present.

'I hope this works' Tonks decided to use a sort of calming technique her roommate at Auror training had taught her.

Gently, Tonks began caressing his head, firmly massaging his scalp. The action was affectionate without being too intimate and calming as well. Harry soon relaxed a little, his caresses up Tonks' sides becoming more sensual and languid in their application.

"See, its not all terrifying being with girls, especially one who knows what she wants" Tonks whispered into his ear.

"Lets lay down, listen to some music or something" Harry muttered, a tiredness creeping up on him.

Normally Tonks would be a little miffed, but she saw Harry's eyelids drooping and felt his heart rate calming down. With a gentle smile, she shifted so they were lying down on the large couch. Harry snaked an arm around her waist, gasping one of Tonks' hands at the same time. Tonks in response snuggled right into him, trying almost to melt in and fill the gaps created by his contorted form.

'Tired, yes, but you are not unresponsive' Tonks allowed that predatory grin to come back as she squirmed her bum a little.

The hiss she got in response made her insides melt a little.

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Ron wasn't sure how to feel: sure Harry had ditched them on the way to the train station but if he'd gone where he thought Harry had gone, well, stopping him would be impossible if not dangerous.

'Pay for my wedding Harry, that should just about cover the utter bollocking I will get for this' he thought as he settled down into his chair.

"I cannot believe him. He could get himself killed" Hermione still hadn't lost the big sister streak: Ron doubted she ever would when it came to Harry.

"Hermione, you saw what Drift and Rally are capable of doing: if the Death Eater's attacked, they wouldn't have time to scratch themselves before they're killed" Ron muttered, feeling a headache or an argument brewing.

"I agree with Ronald" Luna said, nodding as she read her magazine.

"Do you think he loves her?" Ginny asked suddenly, looking up at everyone.

Ron looked like he was fluctuating between empathy and apathy at Ginny's predicament with Harry. Sure he was a little upset his sister got burned by Harry but he can hardly hold Harry responsible for what he felt in his heart and frankly now he was sick of hearing Ginny harp on about it.

"I don't know Ginny, you might want to ask them when you see them next" Ron shot back, rubbing his eyes.

"Ginny, I think this had better wait until we get home. This space is too confined to have that conversation" Hermione tried to reason with her.

"I wonder indeed, what mum would say…" Ginny trailed off, the threat lingering in the air like a bad smell.

"Ginny if that was supposed to be funny I'm not laughing: he made his choice, respect it" Ron flashed a look.

"Your mother overreacts to things anyway. With something like this, I could see her really hitting critical mass too" Hermione muttered.

Ron smirked, remembering Hermione's initial reaction to what Ron had been quick to dub as Harry working some real magic. Tonks fulfilled every fantasy girlfriend criteria he could think of:

Older: check.

Adventurous: check.

Fun: check.

Sexy: double mega super awesome epic check.

And, amazingly enough they also filled a few of Harry's ideal lady criteria as he'd learnt later that day: powerful, courageous and gentle. Oddly enough the whole metamorphic thing hadn't really been drafted into play. Ron had to admit, that could open up intimacy possibilities the likes of which mortal men could only comprehend in their most advanced of philosophy. Harry didn't appear to give two shits about it though.

"Ron, we're going for a walk: okay" Hermione said, ruffling his hair.

"Just don't kill Malfoy without me" he said, returning his internal monologue.

Hermione and Luna left the compartment, leaving Ginny and Ron to themselves. There was amiable silence for a few minutes as Ron sat and considered how much trouble he'd be getting into later until Ginny spoke again.

"I'm sorry" Ginny muttered.

"You're hurt. It's understandable" Ron replied.

"I liked him Ron, I can't help but be a little upset with her" Ginny continued.

"Oh Merlin for the last time, Ginny. It is okay that you're shitty with them. But for the sake of all things we hold dear: keep your mouth shut about them, at least in front of mum" Ron spoke a bit sharper than he wanted to.

Ginny said nothing but looked suitably chastised and sank back into her chair. Ron closed his eyes and tried to settle down and sleep for a few minutes: he'd need his rest for what was to come.

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At the base, Tonks was packing her things (few that there were) into Rally's boot: Harry was still packing and speaking with Burnout upstairs. No doubt the medic was still pushing his offer of enhancement surgery.

'What is taking them so long?' she wondered.

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"Harry, have you thought any more about the augmentation operation?" Burnout asked as Harry packed his trunk.

"Yes…I have" he said shortly, running a check over the pistol just as Drift had taught them both to do.

"And what do you think of the idea now?" the medic prodded while Harry closed his trunk.

"I still don't know: on one hand, it would make me a powerful force" Harry picked up the trunk and turned to his friend.

"But I don't know if I could handle the power. I mean, I love Quidditch but those enhancements would give me an unfair advantage and I'd have to stop" he paused and went a little red.

"And when I'm with Tonks, touching her, I might hurt her" he looked very embarrassed to say so.

"Well I'm not just going to give you the power and send you on your merry: we will teach you how to wield it properly. You seem to think I'm running this on amateur hour or something" Burnout chuckled, a sound that reminded Harry of metal clanging together.

"How do you know that it will work?" Harry asked a final question.

"I won't, it will require small and careful tests, and I'll need Madam Pomfrey's help since she is the medical expert on magical bodies. With collaboration, I feel we can succeed" he stated confidently.

"Harry, time to go" Tonks said softly from the doorway.

Harry nodded, commanding his trunk to move out of the room and down the stairs. Tonks gave Burnout a pointed look but said nothing, the robot returning the look with equal bluntness. After a few seconds, Tonks broke off and followed Harry.

'It is time' Burnout thought, following them both.

Harry stowed his trunk in Drift's boot, then got in the backseat of the Evo. Tonks joined him, wrapping an arm around him. Burnout transformed and generated a holographic rider. Rally and Drift started their engines and with a roar of engines and music, they were off towards England.

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Hermione and Luna moved towards the front of the train, carefully bypassing the head boy/girl and prefects carriages at the front. As quietly as possible they opened the door. The train tender had a small ledge going around it. As they thought about how they would get around, the tender suddenly split in two, allowing them walking access. With a shrug they walked through the walkway and into the cabin, the walkway shutting behind them.

"Welcome young ones. I am Gauge and I will be your conductor for this little jaunt" a jovial voice emanated from around them.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger" Hermione waved at the firebox and controls.

"And I'm Luna Lovegood" Luna introduced herself with a little less hesitation.

"What brings you two up here then?" he asked; not really caring just grateful of the company.

"Ron and Ginny needed brother/sister time. Besides, we haven't met you and Ginny says you're really nice" Hermione explained.

"Ah yes, young Ginerva, delightful child. A shame about her broken heart" Gauge spoke as he ran scans of the terrain five miles ahead of him.

"Yeah, that, is gonna cause problems later between this otherwise tight knit group we have" Hermione admitted.

"I don't see why. Ginny just has to accept that she and Harry weren't meant to be" Luna said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ah alas young Luna; matters of the Spark, or heart in this case are not easily downplayed or forgotten. I remember an old comrade of mine: his name is Ironhide" Gauge began to tell the story.

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked.

"He fell in love, her name was Chromia and my, what a pair they were" Gauge laughed, not too loud so as not to draw attention.

"Desperately in love?" Luna asked, seeming bored.

"That they were. There was a time when Chromia was in trouble, near death. Ironhide could not be restrained by anyone. He raced into an area swarming with Decepticons" Gauge sounded almost, animated by remembering the battle.

"His Spark led him to new levels of rage: his enemy tried to kill his Bonded and he would not stand for that. Even he, the consummate soldier placed his heart over his head" Hermione was beginning to wonder if there was a Transformer left not twisted by war.

"What happened to those Decepticons?" Luna asked.

"Ironhide decimated them. Those he didn't kill, Chromia did. Jazz said it was the most terribly beautiful thing he'd ever seen. As your kind might say, a masterpiece painted in blood to a symphony of screams" Gauge's voice turned oddly dark.

Luna and Hermione felt a little scared now: even on the recording they'd seen, most of the Autobots seemed cool and calm professional soldiers: doing their duty. Gauge on the other hand, behind his gentlemanly demeanour seemed more of a bloodthirsty creature.

"What's in the tender? I don't see any coal" Luna said, looking at the covered tender.

"Let us just say, Burnout and Tonks have been very busy these last few months" Gauge's darker edges had left him now, back to the ever jovial gentleman he seemed.

"I see. Well, best we go back to the carriage now. They'll get suspicious if we're gone too long" Hermione tapped the tender, hoping to make it open again.

"Oh yes, how rude of me" Gauge opened the walkway again for them, allowing them access to the train carriages.

"Bye Gauge, we'll see you later" Hermione said, not really looking forward to it.

"Bye bye" Luna said, never losing her trademark wide eyes or vacant voice.

"Farewell" the train said to them, humming something that sounded like a child's lullaby to himself as his visitors left.

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As soon as they were in the carriages, Hermione broke into a run towards their carriage. Luna remained at her normal pace. Hermione was scared; the voice Gauge had used when he'd described what Ironhide and Chromia had done, he sounded so much like Voldemort that…

…she swore blind that the Dark Lord had been in that train with them.

'Ron' she thought and flung the door open.

Hermione practically launched herself at Ron. The young man was not expecting the sudden impact of his girlfriend on his lap. He opened his eyes and looked down: she was scared. This gave Ron pause for thought because Hermione didn't scare like this easily.

'Malfoy, I'll have your head on a pike if you're responsible for this' he thought savagely, narrowing his eyes.

"Hello, we're back" Luna announced herself and sat down next to Ginny.

"What got her so upset?" Ron asked quietly since Hermione didn't look in the talking mood.

"We spoke to Gauge, and he said some…off colour things. It may have rattled her" Luna admitted.

Ron stopped short. Sure he wanted to be a big man for his girlfriend. Even though Hermione had said such shows of immature maleness were not required he felt obligated (or driven by a few thousand years of learnt genetic behaviour) to see her assailant punished. Doing that to Gauge proved however to be a bit of a quandary: the large Autobot commanded enough firepower to level a small village, or so he was told.

'Oh well, I'll ask Harry and Drift about it' he shrugged, swallowing his pride like a large and bitter slice of pumpkin pie.

Hermione was glad Ron didn't get up: even though this time his foolish bravado was appreciated, if he went and started hurling curses of any kind at Gauge, the Autobot's darker nature might manifest again and she didn't want that.

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A sudden jolt heralded their arrival at the station at Kings Cross. Hermione was told that Kingsley and Moody would be there, along with Ron's father. Her parents knew she was spending some time with Ginny over the summer; although her father had written a letter to Ron. The gist of which had been 'Keep your hands to yourself and no one gets hurt'.

"Come on, let's get off this bloody train and go home. I need a shower" Ginny mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

The children all filed out of their carriages and onto the platforms: waiting relatives hugging them and wishing them happy returns for the holiday. Hermione cast a searching gaze over the crowd: looking for Moody and Kingsley, just to see if she could pick them out.

"Hermione! Ron!" Mr. Weasley waved to them to catch their attention.

"Hey Dad" Ron hugged his father, patting him firmly on the back.

"Ginny my darling girl" he hugged his daughter too, but with less force.

"Hello Mr. Weasley" Hermione waved too, a little red on her face.

"Okay, well, let's go then" he said, smiling a great deal at his son and daughter, and Hermione too.

Arthur took them to a public Floo station and called out the name of their house and threw the powder in. First Ginny went in, then Hermione. Ron stayed behind to help hurl the luggage through for the others to catch. Once that was dealt with, Ron jumped in with his father close behind.

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Molly gave a look of exasperation to her husband and youngest son, both of whom came flying through the Floo at an almighty rate and screaming like banshees. Fred and George looked on with matching grins as their younger brother and father were very powerfully chastised by Mrs. Weasley, their father muttering an occasional 'yes dear'.

"And where, Ronald, is Harry?" Molly turned her attention to her young son.

"He came back a different way. I thought you knew that" Ron said slowly, looking around for some backup.

"No one told me a nary thing about it my son, so who should I ask for an explanation?" Molly crossed her arms, staring right at Ron.

"Anyone other than me, because I know nothing" Ron stood straight up hoping to be saved the grilling.

"As far as I know, he's with Tonks dear, so don't worry. He is under her protection" Arthur said, trying to placate his wife.

"Not the only thing of hers he's been under I bet" Ginny muttered.

"Did you say something, Ginny?" Molly asked, narrowing one of her eyes at her daughter.

"No, I didn't" she lied.

"Well anyway, go and get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready soon" Molly shook her head at her children.

Ginny and Hermione made their way to their rooms to get changed into more comfortable clothing. Ron ran upstairs to get changed as fast as possible. In a couple of days, there would be some very interesting things happening here and he wanted to have some fun before the whole house went nuts.

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Tonks reclined on her couch, happy to be home after that drive. Although magic would have been far more expedient, the driving was fun. She got to spend time with Harry and the Autobots, which was a huge plus.

"Tonks, you hungry?" Harry called from the kitchen.

"Starving, why?" she called back, feeling no inclination at all to move.

"Well I'm no House Elf, but I can cook passable spaghetti and meatballs as well as some other stuff. Wondered if you wanted me to throw together a feed?" Harry stuck his head out of the kitchen, a very abused pink chef's hat on his head.

"If you can make something edible out the crap I keep in that kitchen, you're officially better than every other boyfriend I've ever had" she closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into the couch.

Harry rolled his eyes and went back to scanning the pantry and fridge. So far he managed to scrounge about one kilo of serviceable beef mince, a jar of pasta sauce, some chilli flakes, red and green peppers and bread and some cheese.

'Chilli burgers it is; easy" he thought with a grin.

Grabbing a large bowl, Harry set about making the beef patties, using a couple of eggs found in box in the fridge door on second inspection as a bonding agent. After adding some diced peppers and the chilli flakes he turned his attention to the oven. Tonks didn't seem to use it much as it was reasonably clean.

"Okay let's see, fry pan" he muttered as he began rummaging around the cabinet.

"Harry, what are you doing?" a female voice startled him.

Harry cried out and jumped, hitting his head on the cabinet roof. Grumbling and rubbing his throbbing skull, Harry extracted himself, pan ready to assault who ever crept up on him. He stopped when he saw Rally's holoform.

"Rally, hey, what's up?" Harry asked, his injury now largely forgotten.

"I ah, um…oh Pit this shouldn't be so hard I'm not a giggling youngling" she muttered.

"Rally?" Harry tried to prod her, but only went through the soft light hologram.

"Oh sorry, I drifted off point there. This meeting we're going to day after tomorrow; will Remus be there?" she asked, her holoform giving her nervousness away.

"I should think so, unless he's on Order specific missions or business" Harry looked at Rally oddly.

Her holoform was blushing, something he'd never seen it do before. Rally also looked very, very nervous about something. Harry put the pan down and looked at his friend.

"Rally, are you sure this isn't something you'd rather talk to Tonks about?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, good idea" Rally vanished from the room, undoubtedly to appear next to the couch Tonks was on.

'No matter the species, or even the age, I cannot fully understand women' Harry through as he returned his attention to the job at hand.

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Tonks was in the land of white clouds and flowers when she was shaken awake by a very familiar visage: Rally. Tonks rubbed her eyes and sat up, noting the distressed look on her friend's face.

"Rally, are you okay?" she asked, offering the femme's holoform a seat beside her.

"No, not really. I was just chatting with Harry, and he said there is a good chance Remus would be at the meeting" Rally began twiddling her thumbs.

"Yes, he is a high ranking member of the Order so it stands to reason he would be there" Tonks rubbed her head again.

"Well you see I'm a little nervous about being there" Rally explained.

"Why?" Tonks probed.

"This stays between us okay?" Rally asked, beseeching Tonks with her eyes.

"Sure, you have my word on that" she reassured her friend.

"Well, some weeks ago, I went out with Drift. We went to Glasgow and used our hard light holograms to go into a few pubs" she began.

Tonks then listened with increasing awe and shock as Rally outlined the situation. Simply put, she had become rather fond of Remus Lupin when they'd spent nearly five hours together in the pub drinking and talking.

"I promised him I'd go back, but with all that has been going on, I either forgot or put it off" Rally admitted shamefully.

'Oh Merlin you have to be kidding me' Tonks thought and wrapped an arm around Rally: promptly falling over and through the shimmering hologram.

"Sorry, had it set to soft, uses less energy that way" Rally said sheepishly as Tonks threw her a sour look from the floor.

"Okay, so what your telling me, Rally, is that you're afraid that Remus will recognise you and call you to task over not showing up…ignoring for the moment that you're also not a human" Tonks asked, just to clarify.

"In a body shell, yes" she replied.

"Okay…sister, I need whiskey if I'm gonna think this one over" Tonks picked herself up off the carpet and made her way to a drinks cabinet.

With some deft movements, Tonks retrieved a two glasses. One she filled with a fine Irish whisky she'd been given by Moody on her successful graduation from Auror Academy. The other she filled with cold water kept in a small bar fridge that sat next to the cabinet.

"My father always said it was sacrilege to mix good whisky with water" Tonks remarked off hand.

"Why?" Rally asked.

"Don't know, don't care" Tonks replied flippantly as she sat down.

"So what are we going to do?" Rally asked, trepidation clear in her voice.

"I dunno girl, I'm not sure if there is much we can do. Remus hasn't seen your car properly and even if he did, being raised in a purely magical family means he probably won't remember it" Tonks took a sip of whisky and then water.

"Slag I'm in a right mess" Rally chuckled.

"Perhaps, but the course of true love hath never run smoothly as they say here" Tonks smiled softly, taking another sip of the whisky.

"Rally; if you don't mind me asking; how long has it been since you've been, intimate, with someone?" Tonks asked, starting to see why her friend was so distressed.

"About six million years" she admitted with no small amount of anguish.

"Bloody hell, some of my roommates at the Academy couldn't go a week" Tonks had to snigger.

"DINNER'S UP" Harry called from the kitchen.

"FOOD!" Tonks jumped up and bolted for the kitchen.

"Wow…she must really be in need of fuel" Rally stood and idly wandered into the kitchen where Tonks now sat.

Both her and Harry were eating the homemade chilli and cheese burgers and drinking, Tonks had her whisky and Harry had some kind of carbonated drink in a tin. Rally sat down and watched them interact…by throwing bread bits at each other.

'They've got a nice thing here' Rally admitted to herself, flicking a piece of meat at them.

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Kings Cross station was usually quiet around this time of the evening. Gauge sat on the tracks still, waiting for the absolute dead of night to fall. It had taken a while before the desired lack of light was abundant enough for him to transform to robot mode.

"Hmm, my new alternate mode does not allow for cargo transportation. Oh well, I shall have to use the magnetic locks on the crates to place them on my undercarriage" he mused.

Working quickly, he unloaded the crates that sat suspended in midair by their magnetic fields onto the station platform. Thinking quickly, he transformed into his jet mode so that his thrusters were pointed at the ground. Sending a magnetic signal to the crates they gently hovered over and attached themselves to his fuselage.

"Now to see if these most basic aeronautic craft have any merit at all" he muttered.

Using the crates magnetic fields to his advantage, he made them push him a few feet off the ground and ignited the main thrusters on his jet mode. There was a powerful amount of flame and dust spat up as he launched skywards. The crates were very low profile so they didn't add to his drag in the air.

'Not bad, for a race not yet in the stars' he thought, doing an experimental barrel roll.

He spent about an hour doing various acrobatics and aerial manoeuvrers to get the hang of how this mode performed under its limited state. Once he was confident that it was safe to do so, he climbed higher than any human could see and deactivated his alt limiter.

'Now, let us see what you can really do' he thought with a grin and gunned the engine, now powered by an Energon power cell.

The effect was much more pronounced now. The schematics of the plane he'd been given indicated that its top speed was just over 1500 miles per hour. The frame strengthened by his construction allowed it to reach a further 700 miles per hour over the designated speed with the wings swept back for maximum flight speed.

'Impressive indeed' Gauge was genuinely impressed with the craft's capabilities.

Slowing himself down to a comfortable cruising speed that allowed for conservation of his energy, he charted a course for the area known as Ottery St Catchpole.


	18. Chapter 18

Burnout also chose the cover of night to engage in some sneaky business. He had located the London address of Madam Pomfrey and he required her assistance. Approaching the moderate block of flats he quickly scanned for what he had been quick to dub a Magic Spark. A unique concentration of energy in every magical being he'd scanned that was not dissimilar to a Cybertronian Spark. Utilising his holographic projectors he materialised in the main hallway of the building outside the door.

'I hope she is not asleep' he mused as he hardened his hand to allow it to knock on the door.

A few seconds and a weary grumble later, the door was opened by a very dishevelled looking Poppy Pomfrey. At first she did not recognise her visitor until he spoke and deliberately made his image flicker on and off to make his identity known.

"Burnout, what on Earth are you doing here so late?" she asked, feeling rather groggy.

"A matter of great importance that requires both our expertise. May I come in?" he asked.

"Certainly" she moved aside and allowed him to enter.

Burnout made his way into the living area and settled down on a chair, tactfully refusing the offer of a drink.

"So, what is so important it could not wait until the Order meeting on Saturday or even the dinner at the Burrow tomorrow?" she asked, a Pepper Up and a coffee in front of her.

"As I may have made mention to Harry in your presence or he mention to you in passing, I have offered Harry augmentations of Cybertronian design" he then gave a brief outline of what that actually meant.

"My word, that is an astonishing feat of medicine" she exclaimed.

"Indeed, but it won't work unless I can make them interact with, what ever it is inside his body that controls, contains or generates his magic power" he said, an exasperated look on his face.

"Ah, you speak of our magical cores. The most sacred part of any Witch or Wizard's body. It has long been the dream of many healers to study it" she looked wistful for a moment.

"I sense a 'however' coming" Burnout muttered.

"Indeed, as befitting its status as a sacred part of us, study on magical cores has been strictly restricted within Wizard society in Britain, as for abroad, I could not say" she shrugged and drank her coffee.

"Indeed. Again, superstition holds back progression in your world" Burnout spoke softly, almost to himself.

"Well, I cannot make my plan work without examining such parts of the body, and don't you think it would do well for those who heal a body to know all about it?" he shot a withering glare at the healer.

"My opinion sadly carries no weight within the Wizengamot or in the Healer Council, if it did, study might perhaps be possible on corpses. The cores remain in such a way for at least a week after death of the body and brain has occurred" she countered with no small amount of offence.

'Hmmm' Burnout thought to himself on that note.

"Well, if that is the case, I shan't keep you awake much longer. No doubt you're looking forward to a sleep in" he said and shimmered out of view.

Burnout's holoform shimmered into view astride his motorbike mode. Making a show of starting the engine in the traditional way, he took off towards Central London, needing to clear his intakes and his ram.

"Taboo for study, by Primus is everyone on this Pit forsaken planet so afraid of the unknown they seek ignorance rather than strive for enlightenment" he muttered darkly.

As he made his way though London, he eventually found his way to one it's many housing estates: political and racial hotbeds if the local media was anything to go by. Lightning cracked overhead and a clap of thunder wasn't far behind. He sighed, the motion betrayed by a rising and lowering of his suspension.

"BUGGER!" he swore.

"HELP ME" a young female voice called out.

Burnout's holoform head looked up. Utilising his sensors he zoomed in on the area where the sound came from. A young woman was having a seizure on the ground as if being put through immense pain. Then his sensors went off detecting a magical core. Burnout grinned with malice.

'Gravy' he thought, having picked up some human sayings during his stay.

Turning off his holoform and leaving his lights off, Burnout quickly navigated his way around the alleyway so that he came up behind the Death Eater.

The Death Eater in the meantime, was having the time of his life. This was his initiation to the Death Eater ranks alongside the most illustrious Dark Wizards of the age. Torture a Muggle to death, and bring their body back for confirmation. It was almost absurdly easy.

"Please, let me go. I'll do what ever you want, just don't kill me" the woman wailed pitifully.

"I think not, you are to die tonight, filthy Muggle" he hissed as he raised his wand.

"I'd put that down if I were you" a deep voice resonated across the darkness.

"Who's there?" the Death Eater spun away, allowing the woman a temporary reprieve from the pain.

Suddenly an engine burst to life and with his lights now on, Burnout surged forward in vehicle mode. The Death Eater was blinded but not deaf to the sounds of metal on metal scraping and clanking. When the light had cleared somewhat, he pointed his wand at the large metal being now standing in front of him.

"Avada Ke-" he was cut off when Burnout's lightning fast reflexes allowed him to grab the man's wand hand and crush it.

"I don't think so sunshine. I've got a very special plan for your worthless aft" Burnout raised his other fist, reconfiguring it into what looked like a syringe gun.

"What are you?" the Death Eater was on his knees now, his hand a pulpy mess of flesh and bone under the robot's grip.

Quickly using some internals to generate a powerful sedative, Burnout shoved the needle into the Death Eater's neck and injected it. The man fell to the ground, stone cold unconscious. Burnout turned his attention to the young woman who'd been on the receiving end of the Pain spell.

'Scans indicate minor nerve damage, some internal bleeding and a cracked rib from the convulsions' he thought as he administered some temporary nanobots to repair the nerve damage.

"Okay, now to patch myself into the emergency services frequency" he muttered and ran a scan.

Once he got himself in, he left an anonymous tip about a woman lying beaten in an alleyway at the housing estate. Grabbing the Death Eater's body and slinging it across his shoulder he jumped up the fire escapes till he got the roof of one of the buildings.

"Now the waiting game begins" he said, dropping the body to the ground making another call.

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Drift was glad to be back in London, although their stay was temporary until they made the drive out to the Burrow tomorrow morning. At this moment he was in the city, embarrassing boy racers and hoons with his superior skills…or so he liked to call them. That was until his comm. came on rather violently.

"DRIFT!" Burnout roared when he realised what the young Autobot was doing.

"Ow, geez Burnout, take a coolant pill would you?" Drift grumbled as he slunk into an abandoned car park.

"Whatever. Just follow my tracking beacon would you. I picked up some supplies that I can't move myself" Burnout muttered, tapping his fingers on the concrete nervously.

"Okay, fine, I'll be there soon" he muttered, starting his engine again.

"Wait until the police leave the scene fool, they tag you and we're in the slag" Burnout warned.

"Yes Ultra Magnus" Drift replied smarmily and cut off communication.

"Turbo revving young punk" Burnout snarled and sat down, bringing out his side arm.

Drift soon arrived at the coordinates specified by Burnout. Although he did have to wait at least an hour for the human authorities to leave the area so he didn't arouse suspicion. Once they had gone, as per Burnout's newly radioed instructions the backed up against the alleyway so that he could climb down.

"So what have you got there, Burnout?" Drift asked as he opened the boot.

"Nothing much, just some….stuff. Take it back to Privett Drive quickly would you?" he instructed, closing Drift's boot.

"What about the meeting tomorrow, you're still going right?" Drift asked.

"What, and leave you three numb nuts to do your own introductions, you must be joking" Burnout transformed and began heading towards Surrey.

Their trip was spent in relative silence and upon arrival at their old base of operations in Little Whinging. Drift backed into their old garage, now very abandoned. Burnout removed his cargo from Drift's boot and sent the younger Autobot on his way, telling him to keep an eye on Harry and Tonks.

"Okay, see ya tomorrow Burnout" Drift called as he sped away, making sure to sit outside and rev his engine enough to wake the Dursleys.

Burnout closed the garage door before someone came out and saw him. Turning on a light he sought out the large metal table he'd used to treat Tonks after she'd been stabbed. He carefully unbound the Death Eater and placed him on the table, the thud shaking him into semi-consciousness.

"Where, where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You are in the worst place you could possibly be, young idiot" Burnout's jade coloured optics flaring momentarily.

"What are you?" the man reached for his wand but found none.

"You're wand is in my care now, I will be studying it later. However, right now, I wish to study something much more interesting…you, or more accurately, that magical core of yours" Burnout pinned the man down at the neck as he spoke.

"Oh and in answer to your actual question, I have many names. You may call me…Bonesaw" Burnout replied, revealing his true name.

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The morning came early for Harry and Tonks as they dragged themselves downstairs to load up their Autobot comrades for the day long journey to the Weasley home. Tonks packed her stuff quickly, before doing a quick check on their weapons. The pistols were still in excellent condition and their power cells at around 80 charged.

"Plenty" she affirmed and affixed her own to the wrist holster, handing Harry his.

"Cheers" he said, doing the same.

"Where is Gauge meeting us?" Tonks asked as she got settled in Rally's driver seat.

"Somewhere over the countryside, he said he'd hide until the morning" Rally muttered with a noise not unlike a yawn.

"Where's Burnout, we're gonna be late" Harry stretched out, his back cracking.

"I'm here, don't get your wires crossed" the Irish baritone grumbled as he rolled up, holoform astride himself.

"Where the Pit were you all night?" Rally asked.

"Out hooning around London, came across something useful and had Drift help me lug it back to Surrey" he mentioned casually.

"Anything cool?" Tonks asked, sticking her head out of the window.

"Lets just say it wasn't without its uses" Burnout replied, plotting a course for Ottery St. Catchpole based on scan data that Gauge had taken.

"Okay…" Harry shrugged and got in next to Tonks.

Weak, pinkish light was rising over the horizon. Rally's first destination was to be the local McDonalds for the greasiest breakfast in existence. The site of it made Burnout remember an old human idiom he'd picked up, one of many: red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

'I've got an ill feeling in my fuel tanks, something's amiss' he thought as he followed them.

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The morning ritual of waking and feasting at the Burrow was much more reserved and warm. Molly as the first one awake began making the breakfast, soon joined by Bill, looking none the worse for wear despite an evening going over some complicated curses and their counters the other night.

"Morning mum" he nodded, grabbing a pan so he could make his eggs.

"Good morning dear, sleep well?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the bacon to make sure it wouldn't burn.

"What's sleep?" he asked jokingly.

As mother and son shared a good laugh, more faces began to make an appearance in the Burrow's dining and kitchen area. Hermione and Ginny both stumbled in, looking as if they'd spent all night braiding each other's hair and talking about…what ever it was they talked about.

"Ginny, be a love and get the plates out. Hermione if you could grab the glasses too please" Molly pointed to them with a spatula as she began scooping the bacon off the skillet and onto a large plate.

As the two girls went about that, Ron and his father (still suitably in the doghouse with the Weasley matriarch) were sent into the back yard vegetable patch for some fresh tomatoes to be picked. Not wanting to anger Molly further, both men complied without fuss, Bill giving them a knowing nod as they left.

Charlie, Fred and George were the final occupants to make an appearance, given the task of actually setting the table with knives, forks and other condiments. Molly Weasley ran her kitchen with a fierce regimentation that would have made many Autobot commanders proud…

…indeed in the Weasley household, breakfast was serious business.

"Here you go mum, some nice ripe tomatoes" Ron said, overselling the pride he had in his efforts.

"Oh stop being silly and sit down" Molly ruffled her son's hair and smiled at him.

"Excellent, Charlie, send the sausages my way" Ron nodded to his older brother.

"Coming up" Charlie passed the plate, a borderline throw.

Ron however caught the plate in deft and practiced hands. Removing a large beef sausage for himself, he offered the plate to those sitting near him. Hermione and Ginny refused, feeling their bacon, eggs and fried bread were sufficient.

"More the rest of the menfolk then" Bill said, plucking a pair from the plate for himself.

Ginny and Hermione shared a look and continued eating. Ron gave Hermione one too: they three knew who would arrive by lunchtime, or earlier depending on who was driving. Aside from Dumbledore who would be dropping in to make sure the introduction between them all went as smoothly as possible, no one else in the house wanted the rest of the Order here. It was too big a reminder of what was coming.

"Who's up for Quidditch after breakfast?" Bill asked, swallowing a hastily made bacon and egg butty.

"Sold" Charlie leaned over the table to give his brother a high five.

"A bit of Weasley family three-a-side, bloody good way to spend a Saturday" Fred affirmed.

Arthur on the other hand, had another idea. There was no official business to begin until well after the lunch time. So he'd set about getting the old deck chairs out and found a bottle of wine he and Molly hadn't drank out of in many years. Yes, a nice Saturday in an unusually warm sun for the time of year.

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Bill and Charlie took a few moments to rig up some simple goal hoops while Ron and Fred grabbed the family brooms. Ginny busied herself with getting their makeshift Quidditch balls out from the attic and Hermione was to pick the teams.

"You're perfectly neutral: hates the game, and only really like two of us" George had explained when he handed her some parchment, a quill and a ratty looking top hat.

"You're a pest sometimes, George Weasley" she muttered and wrote out all their names on scraps of paper.

Shooting an irritated look at George, Hermione began to mix up the scraps and randomly pick them out. The teams ended up as Ron, Ginny and George against Fred, Charlie and Bill. Bill soon set to work setting up some goals while Fred saw to the various balls they'd need.

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A few miles away sitting as low to the ground as he could with a holographic projection of a large rock over his body, Gauge watched the Weasley family and Hermione at play and rest. He was documenting their faces, names and any other habits or features he deemed of interest.

'Hmm, an interesting sport. Perhaps if I watch it, I can….PUZZLES" he suddenly remembered he had a few more of his puzzles to work on and soon lost interest in the Quidditch match.

For about an hour there was no change at all. None of the humans at the Burrow made any kinds of changes in their demeanour or bio readings. Gauge almost felt himself moving into a bit short stasis nap until his radar blipped.

'Odd, there are no RAF bases around here, and if there were, they shouldn't get this close the ground' he made a much more thorough scan.

There were six shapes in the air, and soon enough the scans revealed to Gauge that they were biological and not mechanical. Zooming in as best he could, he saw they were wizards. He didn't recognise any of them, which was a worry.

"Best contact Rally" he muttered and opened his comm. link.

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A few hundred miles away, Tonks was sleeping off six sausage and egg McMuffins and a litre of OJ. Harry was listening to what he could only describe as…weird music. It wasn't unpleasant or bad but very odd; Rally said it was her favourite song. His cross cultural experience was cut short when Gauge's comm. dropped in.

"Gauge, what's up man?" Harry asked.

"Do you recognise any of these people?" Gauge asked and fed images of the people on the brooms that he saw.

Although Harry didn't recognise them, he had a gut feeling who they were and roused Tonks.

"Harry, are we there already?" she asked, yawning.

"No, do you know these people?" Harry pointed to the images on Rally's display unit.

Tonks' eyes went wide: Death Eaters, every one of them one of Voldemort's faithful. None of the heavy hitters were there though although since there were about ten of them, it could prove a serious problem.

"Gauge they're Death Eaters, you have to stop them" she said, clearly panicked.

Gauge said nothing and severed the comm. link. Tonks looked at Harry, worry and resignation written on her face.

"I have to be there, I can side along you with me if you want" Tonks offered Harry the choice.

"I'm in" he took her hand.

"Harry, before we go promise me something" she asked, looking serious.

"What?" Harry had never seen her serious like this before that he remembered.

"When we get there, you look after you and yourself. Don't try and save me if I look like I'm in trouble: I've got more than a few new tricks up my sleeve. Okay?" she looked straight at him, vermilion eyes to green eyes.

Harry squeezed her hand. Clearly he was a in a dilemma for himself. It felt odd that he had to promise not to protect her if she was in danger but as he considered it, it made sense. Tonks was an Auror: she'd dealt with Death Eaters before and would likely live through this to do so again. This promise was as much for her protection as his.

"Okay, I promise" he said.

"Thank you. Rally, we're going okay, get there as soon as you can" Tonks said, gently patting the dashboard.

"Kick their afts, and kick them hard" Rally said.

Tonks smiled and closed her eyes and concentrated on the fields outside the Burrow: once the destination was clear in her mind, she Apparated. Then a truly odd thing happened: Tonks somehow, via physical contact or just through Harry's own worried leaking, had tapped into Harry's own magical powers. There was a flash of light, causing Burnout and Drift to skid to a stop.

"What the Pit was that?" Drift asked, no longer seeing his sister.

"Magic, I believe Drift" Burnout mutterd.

"So what do we do?" Drift asked, sounding worried.

"We turn our limiters off and we burn rubber to get the Burrow: maximum speed" Burnout replied, taking off down the road at speeds his mode not theoretically capable of.

"Now this is what I'm talking about" Drift muttered, following close behind.

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Ginny was flying high, much higher than she'd ever done before at home. With the lack of a Golden Snitch and a fourth player for each team, they'd all agreed to play first to 50 points. George rigged it so the score would display above the goalpost when scored.

'Okay, two points in it, if I come in hard and fast, Charlie will never see it coming' Ginny thought with a smile.

Seeing that she'd lost Fred and the Beater ball was out of range, Ginny went into a dive. The wind rushing through her hair brought her a sense of exhilaration and her veins began to throb with adrenaline.

'Faster, faster, faster!' she thought, pushing her broom to the absolute limit.

Then there was a snapping noise and her broom began to spiral out of control. Looking behind her, she saw a crazed looking young man on a broom following her: a Death Eater. Before she could scream he fired a stunning curst at her. Ginny gulped closed her eyes and steeled herself for the eventual impact. She hit something, but it wasn't the ground.

"What the?" she said looking at the tiny metal room she was in.

"Hello Ginerva, now if humans were meant to fly, you'd have evolved wings" the posh voice of Gauge sounded off.

"Gauge?" she muttered, getting her bearings.

"Quite so, that young scallywag doesn't know where we are because I got you in here and shot forward, he never saw me coming or going" the Autobot sounded very pleased with himself.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she felt Gauge turn around.

"I'm going to teach that little waste brush a lesson" he said, his sophisticated accent falling away.

Ginny suddenly felt speed like never before as Gauge disabled his alt limiter and engaged his engines at full power. She watched in at first fascination as they sky seemed to swirl around her until at the last second she saw the Death Eater. The young man had turned in time only to see the wing of a fighter jet scream towards him at almost twice the speed of sound.

'Oh Merlin…' Ginny held her hand to her mouth as she saw the man cut cleanly in two.

"Got you" Gauge said darkly, suddenly banking to the left so he could go towards the ground.

On the ground, heavy fighting had already begun: the older of the Weasley children putting up a mighty front while Hermione and Ron got to the fireplace to Floo Professor Dumbledore. Fred and George, acting every bit the heroes that their late uncles Fabian and Gideon had; rushed out throwing home brew hexes at the various villains.

"Oh this is bloody good sport" Fred yelled, nailing one of the Death Eaters.

A pair of sneak attacks sent them careening back to the 'defensive line' as it were with very sore chests and arms that wouldn't move. As the Death Eaters began to advance, Hermione began to hear something familiar to her.

'Is that…' she turned around looked up.

In a skill of aerial acrobatics to rival Starscream himself, Gauge had inverted himself and opened the cockpit canopy. This allowed Ginny to land safely on the roof of her house. Without hesitation he opened fire with his canon, which he had switched to Cybertronian Ion blasts. The ground exploded beneath the Death Eaters, scattering and scaring them.

With a flourish of movement, Gauge transformed to robot mode, removing something not unlike a combat shotgun from his back. He surveyed the small amount of devastation he'd caused: only a few of the biological signs were registering as alive.

"There is a saying I have picked up on this planet, fight fire…" he paused and fired his weapon

A large shell hit the ground, exploding and covering the Death Eaters in a fine silver powder…one that Ron and Hermione recognised instantly.

"What is that?" Arthur's natural curiosity overrode his fear as he stood up to study Gauge.

"GET DOWN!" Hermione screamed, screwing her eyes shut in fear.

Gauge allowed a most feral grin to etch itself across his face as he fired the secondary munitions from his weapon: a superheated Ion bolt. As Ron and Hermione had surmised, the powder was in fact Kytanium Plains dust. It was doubtful the Death Eaters felt any pain as the dust ignited to over 6000 degrees Celsius.

"…with fire" he finished

"Well, now that the unpleasantness is taken care of, we can begin proper introductions: my name is Gauge, an Autobot and ally of the Order of the Phoenix" he said with a small bow.

Before anyone could even respond to his greeting, a great crack sounded across the meadows. Ginny thought it was lightning until she saw a familiar looking blue car: it was Rally with an unconscious Harry and a groggy looking Tonks in her seats.

"Oh my" Gauge exclaimed.


	19. Chapter 19

Ron jumped up and ran past Gauge to get Harry and Tonks out of their seemingly incapacitated Autobot friend. Tonks managed to stumble out, mumbling and groaning as she walked around to the other side.

"Rally, you awake girl?" she asked, not quite totally aware of her surroundings.

"Oh Primus, I feel as if I've just gone unit for unit with Ironhide for high grade" Rally moaned.

"Tonks; help me get Harry out of here" Ron muttered as he opened Rally's door.

Shaking her head, Tonks leaned in and helped Ron get the sleeping lad out of Rally. Hermione and Luna quickly saw to the bags and other stuff in Rally's boot area.

"You right now Rally?" Hermione asked, mindful of all the doubtful and fear filled eyes now on her and the others.

"Yeah, should be" she hissed and transformed.

Again the Wizards were treated to the amazing spectacle of a Cybertronian shifting forms. Rally swayed a bit on her feet, rubbing her head.

"What the PIT happened?" Rally asked.

"I don't know: I was just going to Apparate here with Harry and then BOOM, I feel as if I haven't slept in a week and we're all…here" Tonks sobered suddenly at the sight of most of the Weasley family.

'Oh shit' she thought.

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Most of the Weasley family had their wands trained on Gauge, who to his credit had not raised his weapon again. Rally's sudden transformation had caused them to divide their forces, randomly switching between targets.

"You know, as a rule, you should choose a target and stick with it" Gauge offered helpfully.

"Oh Merlin it talks, it talks" Molly muttered, her wand shaking.

"You know, madam, at the risk of sounding rude, I did save your daughter's life so that must count for something" Gauge offered, if only to seem friendly.

"Ginny…GINNY WHERE ARE YOU" Molly suddenly realised her daughter was nowhere to be seen.

"Up on the roof mother" Ginny called out, sounding close to tears.

Hermione felt as if her worst fears had been realised: Gauge was indeed mad, with a penchant for causing death. She did feel less afraid now that Rally was here although Harry's unconscious state and their sudden appearance did disconcert her.

"Drift, this is Rally, come in" Rally spoke into her comm. unit.

"Rally, sister, what's the go?" Drift's voice was fast, the whir of his engine audible in the transmission.

"Well, looks like Gauge took care of the attackers…by melting them down with a Kytanium dust grenade" she said, surveying the melted metal and flesh in the field in front of her.

"Wow, well at least they can't tell the upper command about us. Anyway, Burnout and I are on our way at top speed, I estimate another hour, no more" he answered her unasked question.

"Good, I'll hold down the fort until you get here" she said, using a human idiom.

"Over and out" Drift signed off.

'Okay, now the hard part' she thought and faced the assembled party.

"Well, I'm guessing you all want an explanation?" she said.

"That's a woman's voice" Arthur noted.

'Oh very observant' Tonks thought with a tired look on her face.

"Ah, I see our surprise guests have arrived" a new voice made the assembled parties turn around.

Albus Dumbledore stood, looking as he always did: calm, collected and rather contented. He walked over to Arthur and Molly so as to explain to them that Gauge and Rally were friends.

"Dumbledore, he…he melted the Death Eaters…HE IS AS EVIL AS THEY ARE" Molly was clearly hysterical.

Gauge suddenly moved forward and knelt down, bringing his amber coloured optics a mere few inches from Molly's face. This close up gave Molly a new appreciation of exactly how big Gauge was.

"Take it from me, Mrs. Weasley, I have seen evil and if my methods of combat are evil to you, then what I know as evil would surely scare the very soul from your body" he said in his more soulless and detached voice.

"Could you possibly be less helpful in making these people feel at ease with us…I mean really Gauge" Rally complained.

"Merely making a point" he said, continuing to stare at Molly.

"Gauge, seriously, back off" Rally commanded.

Gauge said no more to Molly but in his native tongue said to Rally that he was going to get some crates from a few fields over. Seeing no need to fly, Gauge simply jogged over. All eyes were now on Dumbledore as he conjured some chairs for the assembled parties.

"I shall wait a few moments to explain what is going as we have more members of our Order to arrive. I will however answer any questions I can, and defer those I can't" he said, entwining his hands in a steeple shape.

"Um, hello, I'm not sure if anyone's noticed but Harry's out cold: mind lending a hand?" Tonks said from the doorway, clearly riled up.

"Madam Pomfrey will be here momentarily, ah, Remus my good fellow, how are you?" Dumbledore said to the recently arrived Remus.

Rally froze on the spot: he was staring at her, she could tell. Thought it was doubtful that he recognised her in this vastly different form, she still felt a great deal of apprehension at his presence. Tonks was watching with wide eyes and crossed fingers as Rally appeared to try and calm herself.

'Come on Rally, say something…wait…they spoke for hours…he'll recognise her voice if she so much as utters a syllable!' Tonks panicked.

"I see we're late for the party then" a thunderous roar tore the precarious silence apart as Drift and Burnout sped into view.

'Thank Primus for that' Rally thought as her brother and their medic transformed.

Mrs. Weasley was apoplectic by this point: she couldn't decide on a target or even if she knew she was awake. Dumbledore, seeing the poor woman still in a state of panic, walked up to her and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"It is alright Molly, I know them all, in fact without them young Harry or Nymphadora would not be here now" he said sagely, a faint but noticeable 'Don't call me Nymphadora' carrying from the house.

"Normally folks, this would have been a less stressful event and probably handled by a bot with more diplomacy than us. That being said; hello" Burnout took to speaking for the assembled Autobots.

The Weasley's, sans Ron and Ginny, offered timid waves and a few unsure smiles; though it was hard for Arthur to conceal his curiosity. Dumbledore set about introducing the Order to their new friends. The timely arrivals of Mad Eye Moody, Kingsley and Snape making it more than a little confusing for everyone involved to keep up with the introductions.

"Well, in ancient times, proposals of alliance were often sealed with a tribute" Gauge's upper class drone snapping a few heads around.

Molly pushed Ginny behind her, only to have her daughter side step the attempt at protection and walk over and sit next to Drift. The black Autobot shrugged his shoulders as Ginny made herself comfortable on his left foot.

"So, here you are" Gauge had paused to allow his first sentence to sink in and dropped a large, flat crate on the grass.

Tonks, under orders from Madam Pomfrey to give Harry some space, appeared in the garden now. Burnout motioned to her for some assistance. As Rally easily hefted the lid off, Burnout reached in and plucked an item from the crate: a rifle.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is an X81 magnetically propelling projectile gun. Otherwise known as a Shatter Gun. Tonks could you magic up a target for me please?" Burnout spoke at length.

"Wood or metal?" she asked, wand at the ready.

"Wood will be fine thank you, place it about fifty meters out would you" Burnout replied while quickly checking over the gun.

Tonks aimed her wand and recited a charm she learnt in sixth year and conjured a large slab of wood, roughly two inches thick and six foot in height. Using another spell, she sent it to the desired distance and sunk it into the ground.

"Now for those of you unfamiliar with it, the basic principle of firearms is to point" he paused and took aim.

Depressing the trigger for a period of three seconds, Burnout fired about five of the titanium rounds. Flying at the same calibrated rate as the British SA80 rifle, the bullets quickly tore up the wooden plank.

"And shoot to kill, in your case at least" he finished and threw the rifle over to Tonks, who caught it deftly.

"You would have as fight like Muggles?" Snape sneered, clearly disgusted.

"Hey, grease ball. Shut up" Drift bristled, his own side arm clicking into place.

"It isn't so much the Muggle aspect of the fighting, but those things won't work on Voldemort!" Moody said gruffly.

"Perhaps not against him personally, however his followers were sufficiently put down with our weapons" Rally curtly nodded her head towards the still smoking areas of metal and flesh.

'Wait, what?' Dumbledore turned and took a closer look at the burnt area of lawn.

Among the burnt grass, scorched dirt and slowly cooling metal, he saw remnants of flesh and bone. With his eyes narrowed and stern he turned around and addressed the assembled party.

"Who is responsible for this?" he asked.

"That would be me" Gauge raised his hand.

"May I ask why you have responded with that kind of, malice?" Dumbledore was giving his 'feel guilty' look.

Gauge recognised a guilt giving look when he saw one. He was totally unaffected by Dumbledore's stare. In fact he knelt down and went optic to eye with the old wizard and smiled.

"Better, older and more experienced leaders have tried that look on me and it has failed, little man, you have no chance" Gauge stated and stood up, finally replacing his rifle on his back.

"Do you know who are speaking to?" Molly asked, seething at the large robot.

"Do you? I'm not going to be lectured on the waging of war, by a race so primal that by my standards you still may as well be picking flea's off one another in trees" Gauge snarled.

"Gauge, contain yourself please" Rally said, giving her comrade a sharp look.

"You do that and then call us primal? I should think that you take a long hard look at yourself, Gauge" Dumbledore said in his stern, solid voice.

"Gauge, sit down, shut up and keep your thoughts on the human race to yourself. Forgive him, long life, successful social and scientific achievements tend to inflate one's ego. Warfare has had a deflating effect, fortunately" Burnout rubbed his face plates as his commanding tone put the larger Autobot in his place.

"And you want us allied with these creatures, Albus this is insanity" Molly reasoned.

"Oh would you give it a rest, please" Tonks gave the older woman a withering stare.

"Don't you speak to me like that" Molly whirled on Tonks only to come face to face with Rally.

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down and take a few deep breaths. Tempers and tensions are clearly high, so, why don't you all go inside, talk about all this while we clean the lawn" Rally suggested.

"A good idea, thank you Rally" Dumbledore led the rest of the Weasley family and other Order members inside, Burnout following close behind.

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The only people that remained outside were Tonks, Ginny, the Twins and Hermione. Ron joined the others inside so as to act as a voice for the Autobots. Rally set about unpacking the weapons and placing them on the ground. Once it was empty, she and Drift began to break the metal and place its chunks in the crate until the ground was free from waste and debris.

"Actually Gauge, why did you use that particular method of attack, you've got a few weapons, why not use a mass stunner?" Drift asked.

"None of them seemed important enough to know anything of value, there was nothing to be gained by keeping them alive" Gauge shrugged.

"Next time, just knock them down" Rally muttered, brushing her hands clean of dirt.

"As a Special Forces operative I would have thought you'd have backed me up on this. Basic rule of military strategy: we are to be their secret weapon, so why allow the risk of letting them go" Gauge spoke sense, as much as Rally hated to admit it.

"How do you think its going in there?" Drift asked, nodding towards the house.

"Well I should hope" Tonks stood and stretched.

"That's another point: how in the PIT did you get here?" Drift asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, I think that should be for Tonks to explain" Rally pointed to her human friend and confident.

"I'm not to bloody sure myself, I was holding onto Harry to do a side along, and then, it was as if I was steering a large ship and BANG, here I was" Tonks explained.

George and Fred had spent this time walking around, unusually quiet and staring at the three Autobots. Mostly the looks were harmless and analytical and to be expected from them. However, they spent a few moments too long looking at Rally's back.

"Hey, quit staring at my aft" she snapped.

Fred and George jumped back at the loud voice, looking suitably embarrassed as the rest of their assembled friends and family laughed at them.

"So, where did you lot come from then?" George asked, feeling brave.

"A planet called Cybertron, many light years from here" Drift answered, noticing that Ginny was asleep.

"Gauge, was it, um, what exactly happened up there?" Fred saw the robot that had dropped Ginny on the roof and was moved to question him.

"She was flying on a broom, and one of the Death Eaters, fired a shot and destroyed part of it, sending her into a nose dive. I caught her in the cockpit of my alt mode and delivered retribution" he said, grinning again.

"How?" Tonks asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"In short, I cut him in half; rammed him with my wing at high speed, never saw it coming" Gauge smirked self importantly now.

"Well, thanks for saving our sister. Seriously, if you ever need a prank…" Fred began.

"…or need a certain item, we can help" George finished both of them smiling.

"Oh by Primus, they are human incarnations of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, with a dash of Swindle for good measure" Gauge suddenly looked very concerned.

"Who?" the twins asked in unison.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, a pair of twins in the Autobot military; they're combat experts. Given what Harry and Ron have said about you both, the comparison is rather apt" Rally explained with a smile.

"Oh Merlin please tell me they won't come here" Tonks muttered: she didn't think the world was ready for Fred and George themselves, let alone giant robots that seemed to be like them.

"Unlikely. Although that does raise a point; we need to get our ship" Drift said seriously.

"Your what?" Tonks spun around, not sure she'd heard right.

"Yeah; we arrived here in a spacecraft, we splashed it down somewhere of the coast of here. It wasn't damaged but we needed to land it somewhere where no one would find it" Rally explained.

"How can you get it back, none of you have an aquatic mode" Hermione spoke for the first time.

"We landed it there, it isn't damaged as I said, and we just need to get close enough to activate its remote control systems. Once in the atmosphere, we told it where to land and then ejected in protoform mode" Drift elaborated.

"Wow, an honest to God spaceship. That would be an amazing thing to see. I mean man has been to the moon, but, a ship that can traverse the stars as we traverse the seas, would be incredible" Hermione became giddy.

"Well, if all goes smooth, we could take you guys for a jaunt in it" Drift smiled as Hermione's eyes glazed over.

"I think you broke her brain" George said as he waved a hand in front of her eyes.

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Luna was enjoying her time home from school. Her father was working at the office today but she was content to amuse herself by wandering around in the woods. Her feet were bare despite the cold but the earth was warmed by the sun and didn't feel as cold as it might otherwise. The woods near her home were teeming with life just waiting to be discovered.

'I wonder what I will find today' she thought as she skipped over a large tree trunk.

Only to come face to face with what she presumed was a Cybertronian. He was (for unlike Rally, the large geometric design looked male) grey for the most part with spots of green and brown on him. His most prominent feature was four large blades on his back that were folded up into a 'V' configuration. Also unlike the Autobots she knew, this one had no eyes but rather a visor and no visible mouth.

'He also seems to have more weapons' she thought, observing some small canons on his arms.

It also occurred to Luna that he was probably, in recharge, she remembered Rally calling it since his optic visor was dark and there were no external factors to suggest injury or death.

Vortex however was not totally in recharge, it was an uneasy nap but her presence had awoken him. A quick scan revealed her, now with a basis for comparison, as an adolescent female and he ignored her as it was unlikely that she would do anything to him. He sensed that she was circling him.

'Rather brave little mite' he thought.

Vortex had been sitting in these woods for some time, he knew when he did return that Onslaught would be furious with him but he didn't care. He'd kept things from him and Blast Off, something he'd sworn an oath not to do.

'Then again' Vortex on reflection could see why Onslaught had done it, but still wished he hadn't.

"Are you alive?" a voice asked.

Out of reflex, Vortex's visor shimmered on and he looked down. The female had spoken to him, her head cocked to one side. Vortex returned the motion, scanning her. She held an unusual energy core inside her somewhere; he was however drawn to her optics. They seemed so large and vacant, but he saw intelligence there.

"Yes, I suppose I am" why not reply, he wondered.

"What are you doing here?" Luna asked, sitting cross legged in front of him.

"Thinking" he replied simply, his tone was, sad.

"You're a Decepticon" Luna blurted as she saw his insignia in his left shoulder.

"How do you know that?" he perked up a bit, scanning for nearby Autobots.

"I met some Autobots that you know. Rally and Drift, from Kytanium Plains" she recalled, not once seeming bothered by the fact that she'd given away she knew them.

"Don't remind me of that awful day" he hissed memories of the hologram Onslaught showed him still fresh in his memory banks.

"You seemed to do rather well" Luna was confused; his side had of course won the day.

"Yes, but I'd rather we hadn't" he growled, clenching his fist.

"You aren't going to hurt me?" although the prospect had crossed her mind, Luna didn't feel threatened.

"Why should I, I'm a soldier not a butcher. This planet has nothing to do with my war, and frankly right now, Rally and Drift could shoot me and I'd not give a frag" he was still very morose.

"What's your name?" Luna asked, seeing genuine anguish in the Decepticon's face.

"Vortex, what's yours?" he asked back.

"Luna" she replied and held out her hand.

Vortex took a moment to realise what the gesture meant. For the most part, Cybertronians were indifferent to organic life forms, simply accepting them as having a part to play in whatever grand design Primus had for the universe. Most Decepticons hated them, irrationally usually. Although he shared Swindle's assessment that there was little on this planet to interest them, he felt no irrational hate for its inhabitants. Aside from that giant one, Primus that thing had irritated him.

'Oh right, her hand' he returned his focus.

Vortex gently took her hand between his thumb and fore-digit and gently shook it. Various animals in the forest looked on as a very bizarre friendship tentatively began.


	20. Chapter 20

Burnout sitting at the head of a table: a reinforced steel chair beneath him. To his left sat Ron and to his right sat Dumbledore. The rest of the assembled portion of the Order of the Phoenix sat at the other end of it, milling and whispering amongst themselves.

"I get the feeling they don't like me" he whispered to Ron.

"Yeah, well, Gauge scared the crap out of them" Ron said.

"Have you all finished?" Dumbledore asked them.

The group stopped and all eyes turned to Remus. Standing up with a sense of dignity and foreboding in his face, he adjusted his robe and spoke.

"Yes, it would seem I've been elected to speak for us all at the moment" Remus seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Please take your time, I'm a very patient mech" Burnout smiled.

"Indeed. I believe first of all I should say thank you, for coming in and assisting us today" Remus began with a small cough.

"Yes, in turn again I'm sorry my colleague was, overly zealous in his application of retaliatory force. I understand that seeing it can be very disturbing occasionally" Burnout grimaced; still surprised that Gauge would use such a viscous attack.

"Occasionally" Snape muttered.

"We'll get to that later I suppose, could you do us all a favour and tell us who you are and where you're from" Remus took on an almost statesman like demeanour.

"I am known as Burnout, I come from a planet known as Cybertron. We are a race of sentient robots that have evolved over ten billion years. For the better part of the previous ten million years, we have been engaged in civil war" Burnout gave a brief history of his home.

The mentioning of such a vast stretch of history caused the wizards assembled to draw breath in shock. They could not conceive of such a stretch of time for a race to exist; it seemed impossible to them.

"Ten billion years, I see" Remus seemed to falter for a moment.

"What you saw, outside, was not typical of Autobot combat procedures. Gauge is, psychologically unwell, although he is mostly stable…sometimes a more savage personality is released" Burnout elaborated on his friend's actions.

"So what you're saying is that Gauge is the exception rather than the rule?" Moody spoke up; his artificial eye meeting one of Burnout's optics.

"Indeed, both Rally and Drift are experts in most forms of combat, weaponry and tactics used on Cybertron" Burnout brought up a list in front of him.

"Such as?" Moody pressed, feeling very interested.

"All our directed energy and projectile weapons, anti personal and anti armour explosives and anti aircraft weaponry. Unarmed combat, field and commando tactics and survival. They of course could give you a more complete list of their skills but you get the idea" Burnout finished, gently placing his hands on the table.

"So what are you doing here?" Molly asked, glaring at Burnout.

"In simplest terms, we are hiding from the Decepticons" he explained.

"What are Decepticons?" Kingsley asked; his baritone low with worry.

"On Cybertron there are essentially two factions: the Autobots, and the Decepticons. Autobots were mainly civilians, much like you while most Decepticons were part of our unified military forces. I don't remember why the war started as I was created afterwards" he explained even further.

"Continue please" Dumbledore was interested to know this story.

"Rally, Drift and I came into possession of valuable information and Optimus Prime, the Autobot commander, decided to have us hide at an Autobot outpost outside Cybertron's direct space" he paused again to allow this to sink in.

"Our ship, _The Prowler_, was discovered at launch and tailed by a Decepticon cruiser: Megatron had sent his elite Special Forces unit after us: the Combaticons. There was a brief exchange of fire and Rally made the ship open a jump point to the nearest world: yours" whispers and gasps filled the room as the tale began to take shape.

"Our ship exited the jump point too close to the atmosphere to safely land and as a result, we bailed out and headed for land, allowing the ship to splash down in the ocean. After a few days we met up, and decided we required lodgings" he was then interrupted.

"What made you decide on Little Whinging?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Reasonably out of the way but close enough to a major metropolis area to obtain supplies and electricity that was stable and workable" he shrugged: it was really just luck.

"These, Combaticons, are they here, on Earth?" Remus asked.

"It is possible, but it is unlikely they will hurt any of you, provided you do not attack them" Burnout replied.

"Why is that?" Molly asked, feeling brave enough to ask another question.

"The Combaticons were the head of Cybertron's Special Forces division of the military: they are trained to be methodical, professional and obey the rules of engagement: they are soldiers, not fanatics" Burnout felt better about this part, more truth to it.

"Is that true?" Charlie couldn't conceive of someone who would kill him in battle being non-threatening.

"Onslaught once saw a fellow Decepticon shoot at some younglings, small Cybertronians not much older than Ginny. He tore both the mech's arms off and left him for the Autobots to find, with a recording of said event with him" Burnout remembered that incident; no one had liked the mech anyway so no one had cared.

"I see" Charlie sat down, sobered.

"If I may ask a question: why, why are you helping us?" Arthur asked what seemed to be the most pertinent question to him.

"Rally and Drift are Autobots, their very upbringing inspires them to fight against evil where ever they find it, and they have found it here. I merely try to keep them in working order" he smiled as he answered.

"Professor, how long have you known of their presence?" Bill asked.

"I personally came to know Burnout and his two young friends some time before school started when there was an incident between Tonks and a Muggle in Dudley Dursley's gang" Dumbledore retold how he came to meet them.

"I told you she was irresponsible" Snape muttered from his chair.

"She got stabbed five times by a crazed drug addict, that wasn't her fault" Burnout narrowed his optics at Snape.

"Also I believe it is time to come clean about something else" Dumbledore took a deep breath before continuing.

'Oh no' Ron and Burnout both thought.

"There was an incident some months ago in Hogsmeade, Molly. Ginerva was injured with a Muggle weapon called a revolver" Dumbledore explained what had happened.

'Five, four, three, two, one' Ron counted down in his head until his entire family exploded in outrage and condemnation of having that information kept secret.

While all the yelling was going on, Burnout set his sidearm to stun, and widened the beam: he'd been on the wrong end of a single wand before and had no desire to be on the wrong end of four or more.

"Poppy how could you keep that from us?" Molly asked a very sheepish looking Madam Pomfrey.

"It was kept secret, Mrs. Weasley, because I was the one who performed the procedure on your daughter, not Madam Pomfrey" Burnout figured it was time for that bomb to go off too.

"WHAT? YOU LAID YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON MY DAUGHTER" Molly was beyond angry, she was livid.

"I performed the procedure madam, because I was asked to, and because Harry Potter is my friend. That and she had gone well into shock when her friends and brother found her. Madam Pomfrey saw to her once she had been stabilised" Burnout remained seated, but his face held a powerful anger to it.

"Is that true?" Arthur asked, squeezing his wife's hand.

"Yes, her shoulder recovered to a hundred percent, Arthur, I may even say it is in better shape than her other one" Poppy said, trying to ease Molly's fears.

"Mum, Ginny was fine. Burnout is a Surgeon and if his operation on Ginny is anything to go by, he's brilliant at it" Ron interjected.

"Ronald Billius Weasley I am ashamed that you would keep this a secret from me. Get out of this room now, I am too angry to look at you" she seethed.

"Ron you will stay exactly where you are. Know this, Mrs. Weasley: I am a first rate surgeon and doctor: Madam Pomfrey can attest to that since I operated on Tonks when she was stabbed and as such, I would never allow someone under my care to come to harm" Burnout felt a bad taste in his mouth; lying did that to him.

"I believe we've drifted a bit. In short, Burnout you are saying that, Rally, Drift, Gauge and yourself are throwing your hat in with us, because it is what you believe?" Moody asked.

"Rally and Drift will help because your cause is just, Gauge because his enemies are evil and I because I can" Burnout replied, exhaling air from his cooling intakes.

Silence reined over the Weasley kitchen for a while: allies were in short supply for the Order at the moment. Although most now knew of Voldemort's return and accepted it also, they still operated as an underground movement. Remus nodded and stood up.

"We're going to discuss this in private, if you wouldn't mind stepping outside" he requested.

Burnout inclined his head as a small bow, and stood to leave the room. The group all watched his movements with great interest and scrutiny. Tiny things like what seemed to be a nervous tick in his left hand, ease and casualness of step and rubbing his optics as if he were tired.

'He seems as alive as me' Remus thought as he focused on what was being discussed in front of him.

Molly had been calmed a little by her husband but was still very angry: although her anger was mainly directed at those that conspired to keep information from her rather than the being that saved her daughter's life.

Remus listened as excited whispers were being traded across the table: never in their lives had they seen anything like these Autobots. Giants of steel and iron that wielded weapons of terrible power and brought tales of wonder and terror from beyond their star.

"Molly, this may sound like a silly question, but are you okay?" Dumbledore asked suddenly.

"No, no I'm not Albus…they attacked my home" he said softly.

"It is fortunate then that you were all capable of fighting them off" Remus noted, trying to bolster Molly's clearly shaken confidence.

"But we didn't, Remus. Oh we held them at bay sure, but in the end they were only beaten back by…that thing" she shivered, remembering very vividly the ease and casual nature of Gauge's attack.

"War and death change people Molly, I can't imagine what tens of millions of years of war has done to their race" Moody spoke up, gently twirling his magical eye.

"Molly, I apologise for keeping matters pertaining to your daughter from you, and I agree Gauge's method of dispatch for our unwelcome guests was confronting, but…" Dumbledore trailed off, looking at Snape.

"But what?" the exhausted woman asked.

"What the headmaster means, Mrs. Weasley, is that we can expect much the same from the Dark Lord and his followers; and they will do it for pleasure and to anyone" Snape said, absently picking at the frayed material on his chair arm.

"My home, Albus, is supposed to be where my children feel safest. And even here, _HIS_ evil finds us. How can we prepare for that, how?" she asked, clearly drained both physically and psychologically.

"By accepting their help" Moody said; all eyes now on him.

"What he has said is logical: those four between them are a military and medical advantage we'd be fools to give up" he reasoned.

"Who are you and where is Alastor Moody?" Arthur asked, only half joking.

"I know I'm not one to easily trust others: but I trust Dumbledore, and he trusts them. They've had plenty of opportunity and means to inflict terrible damage on us and have not done so. Merlin, I never thought I'd say this, but, lets take the chance" Moody seemed, almost animated at the prospect of joining with the Autobots.

'Signs and portents indeed' he thought with a smile.

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Upstairs, Harry weakly opened his eyes and groaned. Feeling like he'd played Quidditch for a month straight, against giants he threw the blanket off himself and tried to stand, only to promptly fall onto his face.

"Okay, that didn't go as I'd planned it" he groaned, rolling over and sitting up.

Rubbing his face and sore nose, Harry took a few deep breaths. Looking around he saw that he was at the Burrow, which meant obviously that everyone had now met his new friends.

'I am sorry I missed that; would probably have been funny' Harry chuckled, feeling a little of his strength come back.

"Okay, lets try this again" he muttered and stood up again, less shaky than before.

Once steady on his feet, Harry walked towards the door and opened it so that he might tackle the stairs. Grabbing the banister he carefully descended to the ground floor of the Weasley home. The kitchen door was shut and voices were audible through it, lots of voices. Including a decidedly mechanically Irish one.

'Undoubtedly related to the robots on the lawn' he thought as he stumbled through the door.

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Tonks' eyes rose at the sound of a door opening: Harry stood, a little uneasily in the doorway. It was a telling moment really, all Tonks did was smile at Harry because of the close proximity of the others. He tried not to show it, but her lack of movement did sting.

'Damn what they think' Harry thought bitterly but managed to smile back.

Harry hobbled over with a strained smile on his face and sat down next to Tonks, nodding to Fred and George as the began to pester him with questions about how he'd met the Autobots.

"Alright calm down, give the young man some air" Tonks said, a slightly possessive tone altering her otherwise calm voice.

Ginny remained silent, burying herself deeper onto Drift's foot, the black metal was warm in the cool afternoon and oddly comfortable. Slowly she felt herself float into a gently nap. Drift looked down at his fragile female passenger and smiled a little: she was tough, and for an organic rather pretty. Letting out some air, he gently laid down on the ground, the black earth was a little irritating but he'd gone to stasis on or even _in_ worse.

"What's he doing?" Hermione asked as Drift's optics dimmed out.

"Taking what you humans call a catnap I think" Rally smiled, seeing Ginny sitting in the Autobot's ankle joint.

"She gonna be okay there?" George asked, a little worried if Drift suddenly had to move.

"She should be fine, since we're not on battle status, Drift should come online rather slowly, he'll do a full body scan before he moves and he'll detect her there" Rally assured them.

Rally looked up when she heard Burnout exit the dwelling, a look of frustration on his face. As he drew closer she could here him grumbling about dim witted lunatics and fanatics and hysterical femmes.

"Meeting go well?" she asked with a grin.

"Stick it up your pipes, Rally, I'm not in the mood" he snarled and leaned up against the now empty weapons crate.

"Okay, that's a reasonable way to answer a question" she said, sounding offended.

"Forgive me, I believe I'd had my skill and professionalism as a surgeon and indeed my personal cleanliness questioned in there and I'm a little bent out of shape" he grumbled.

"Our mother?" George and Fred asked, knowing the answer.

"Indeed, it seems that hysterics over their children is something that all females in the universe are prone to" Burnout sniggered.

"You do remember I'm packing a loaded weapon, don't you?" Rally knew he was joking but shot back anyway.

"Indeed, pain in my aft" he shot back, casting an eye over to George who was going near a rack of Shatter Guns.

"Don't touch those, please" Burnout muttered.

George backed away holding his arms up in a gesture of surrender. The elderly medic expelled more air form his vents and Harry used the opportunity to study him. Burnout's face was more or less like that of a man's, tiny plates of metal interconnected by a science he couldn't fathom allowed the metal to twist and contort like skin when he spoke. Burnout's face was littered with small dings, scratches and breaks; like the wrinkles on Dumbledore's face.

'He does look old' Harry thought and slid down so he was lying on the grassy patch he and Tonks were sitting on.

They looked up at the sound of a door opening: the members of the Order of the Phoenix trailed out, single file. Most of them looked sombre and bit apprehensive at the presence of their guests: but the mortal fear was gone.

'Good, they've been talked around' Rally thought, gently rousing Drift from his nap.

Remus took in the sight before him: Tonks and Harry sat with the green coloured female, Rally if he remembered correctly. The larger and more dangerous Gauge stood well to the back, alert and ready. And in what could only be described as something…cute…Ginny lay sleeping on Drift's foot.

"Burnout, I believe we've come to the conclusion that we would be honoured to accept your help" Dumbledore said, casting a worried look at Gauge: the older robot returned the look venomously but said nothing.

"Thank you, Professor" Rally said, kneeling onto one knee and gently reaching her hand out to Molly Weasley.

The air became thick with tension: Molly had been the hardest to convince of the logic and benefits of this alliance: and now Rally chose her to make her first formal offer of friendship.

Molly looked up at the large female and a moment of understanding seemed to pass between them. It was a small start but a start none the less when Molly gently reached up and took Rally's index finger in her hand as best she could and shook it.

"Remind you of someone or something?" Ron asked Hermione with a smarmy look on his face.

The resulting elbow to his midsection caused Ron to buckle a bit and, if Fred and George were to be believed, made his eyes bug out of his head by at least an inch.

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Deep in the Department of Mysteries, behind a large locked door a team of expert alchemists, enchanters and charms specialists worked tirelessly over their problem. It was a large golden orb, almost the size of a Muggle house. The orb had been discovered long ago, buried underneath Stonehenge by some druids but it seemed so much older.

"Any progress?" a stern looking man asked from the door.

"No Minister, I'm afraid not. That report isn't likely to change in the next instance you ask either" the head of the project replied tersely.

"I'll ask you to watch your tone with me, Rocksalt, lest you be removed from the research" the Minister replied with a glare.

'Knock yourself out you philistine' the man thought sourly.

"Have you tried just breaking it open?" an advisor asked.

"We tried aiming our wands and all firing a reducto at the same time…all of them just bounced right off" a young black woman said with a frustrated look.

"Nonsense, watch this. Bombarda Maxima" the advisor, the pontificating git known as Percy Weasley, rashly fired of a spell.

All the researchers hit the deck yelling advice for the ministerial team to do the same. The energy of Percy's spell hit the orb, and seemed to circumnavigate it before being fired straight back at him, although this allowed for him to duck and avoid having his ribcage crushed like a paper cup. The spell hit the door behind them, blowing it clean of its hinges and snapping it in two.

"Percy, if you ever do that again, I'll have your guts for garters, understood?" Scrimgeour growled from his face down position.

"Yes sir" he responded meekly.

"Minister, kindly remove this young idiot from my research laboratory...now" Rocksalt got up, glaring daggers at Percy.

"Sir I only thought…" he was cut off swiftly by the aged but sharp professor.

"What? That you knew better than my experts, that our magic was infallible against all things in this world. Please young man, open your eyes and mind or get out" Rocksalt turned away; feeling suitably vindicated.

"Percy, please remain quiet for the rest of this inspection: we will speak later" the Minister held up a hand to silence the forthcoming rebuttal.

"Is there anything else that gives you any idea as to what or where this thing is from?" the Minister asked his chief researcher.

"Follow me" Rocksalt said and walked to a door on the far side of the room.

He opened the door with a magical combination and stepped inside, beckoning for the others to follow him.

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"We have this: it was, as you may or may not recall from the report, underneath the orb and when one of our excavators touched the bottom of it, he was turned into a solid steel statue" he explained and pointed to the object hanging from the ceiling.

It was around six feet in height, made of the same golden material as the orb but this was a more recognisable item. It had all the basic looks of a key of some sort. The orb, the assembled party recalled, was seamless however and there seemed to be no place for it to enter.

"Were you able to reverse the effects?" Percy asked.

"No, no young man we were not" Rocksalt was much more sober on that point.

Percy took care as he circled the device, looking it all over for something, anything. He recalled Rocksalt's acidic words to him mere moments ago and strained his eyes, hoping to see anything, something so that he might salvage his dignity. Then something occurred to him.

'Hang on a tic' he thought and stood so he was looking at side profile of the item: although both sides had a circle, the one on the left jutted out by a mere centimetre. Closer inspection revealed a sort of gap between the raised circle and the rest of the key.

"Professor Rocksalt" Percy said, trying to contain his excitement.

"Yes?" the man asked, confused at Percy's ecstatic look.

"Look here, that circle there, sticks out by a tiny margin. Do you suppose it is a button?" Percy asked.

Rocksalt considered the idea seriously. After the incident at Stonehenge, few had been willing to touch this item so it seemed logical that they may have missed it, or just thought it a part of the design.

"Okay, let's run with that idea then. I'll have it moved into the orb room" Rocksalt opened the door behind him again used his wand to move the brackets the key was on.

"Okay, scholars, our young Ministry boy here has used his eyes and mind, and has discovered: a button on the key" Rocksalt announced as he levitated they key into the room.

"So what now?" a man asked, as Percy received some nods and smiles.

"We press it" Rocksalt declared.

Using a very advanced form of the _Wingardium_ _Leviosa_ spell, one of Rocksalt's Charms experts used another large beam of wood to firmly press the button down.

"Well, Minister, if you care to stay, you may witness history" Rocksalt was salivating.

Once pressed in, both the key and the orb began to glow a very bright gold. On the upper side of the orb; a small slot became visible. Using some ladders and elbow grease, the assembled crew managed to rotate the orb and line the key up with the slot: with baited breath it was slid in firmly.

The orb began to glow brilliantly all around and with a great shake of the earth and room, the orb rose roughly fifteen feet off the ground. The assembled party were hypnotised by the sheer simply beauty of what they were seeing…until a deep, commanding voice filled the chamber.

"I am Vector Sigma, before time was, I was. Who reactivates me?"


	21. Chapter 21

Vortex found Luna to be a curious and at times amusing youngling. She told him tales of what it was like at her school; making Vortex bristle with interest, and occasionally indignation.

"Aren't you worried about, you know, the Autobots. They might get angry if they knew you were hanging with a Decepticon" Vortex said with a glint in his optic bar.

"Drift might, but he's got a temper like Ronald does. Rally probably would understand if I told her" Luna looked up from drawing in the dirt to give Vortex a considered stare.

Vortex had told Luna an abridged version of what Onslaught had told him: enough to prove the point that he and the other Combaticons weren't responsible for the act of barbarism at Kytanium Plains. Luna knew Vortex had omitted certain details or even whole events but she didn't press.

'Guilt is easy to see when it sits on shoulders so large' she thought as the Combaticon chuckled wearily.

"True, but if they found us like this, I'd probably be pummelled real well before they started to listen" Vortex said with no small amount of humour.

Luna had to chuckle: Vortex was funny in his own way, although most of his jokes were easily gallows humour as she'd heard it referred to once. In turn Vortex found her to be a fascinating conversationalist since her mind didn't work like everyone else's.

"Vortex, do Cybertronians fall in love?" she asked out of the blue.

Vortex recoiled at the question, his rotors flapping from the movement. Luna didn't seem to be trying to shock him, but was doing a very fine job of doing so anyway. He sat and looked thoughtful for a while, wondering how best to explain it.

"In truth Luna, you're asking the wrong mech. Decepticons don't put much stock in such, intimate emotions. We believe it makes us soft, weak and vulnerable and above all the Decepticons value strength, treachery, power and skill" Vortex's tone indicated something sinister in what he said.

"But what do _you_ think?" she asked.

"Having never experienced the sort of 'love' I assume you're talking about, I honestly wouldn't know" Vortex said, feeling a little confused.

"What about friends?" Luna decided that was a question better suited to Vortex.

"Well I have my brothers of course. I'm the youngest and ironically the biggest too" he said with a glint on his optic bar that simple said 'I am smiling'.

"Any others?" she noticed this was an easy conversational piece and prodded further.

"Astrotrain and Blitzwing, without a doubt those two are our best friends. Blitzwing is one Pit crazy glitch though; the med bots think he's got a couple of different personality components rattling up in that cranium of his" Vortex remembered the time Blitzwing's demeanour kept swapping from calm and collected to a total maniac as they were drinking in their barracks.

"And what of Astrotrain?" she pressed.

"He's a much easier going mech than most of us. He drinks, he seduces and he fights" Vortex recalled, a wistful tone to his voice.

Luna began to wonder if the Autobots were correct to call all the Decepticons monsters. She could say without reservation that Soundwave was a monster and Shockwave too. To say nothing of what she had been told of Megatron….he was evil without question.

'Yet Vortex here seems to more of a, soldier I think Muggles call them' Luna remembered them being mentioned in a Muggle Studies class once.

"It's getting a bit late in the day, Vortex, I'm going to go home now" Luna stood up, dusting off her dress.

"Okay then I shall take my leave. Perhaps I shall see you again, Luna Lovegood" Vortex stood up also, almost reaching the canopy of the forest.

As he stood up, something alerted Vortex's sensors. There was an acrid, unnatural scent wafting across the air currents. Using his directional sensors he turned and zoomed in, his enhanced vision removing foliage from his readings.

'A dwelling. Scans indicate no weapon fire, no fuel or defensive installations or other explosives. Yet it burns' Vortex took a quick image of it.

"Luna, your house, is it near here?" he asked.

"Why yes it is, why?" she asked curiously.

Vortex clenched his metal fists and projected a hologram of the burning but still recognisable house. Luna's expression went from curious to desperate in the space of a nano second.

"My home…" she fell to her knees seeing it that way.

Vortex looked down at her, feeling torn: as a Decepticon he should not care for Luna, her home or her kin. As a warrior and a soldier however, the attacking of a civilian area by a military or terrorist force for no reason would once have been enough to incur the full wrath of the Cybertronian Military of which he was member.

'Find it where you can' he decided.

Luna looked up when she saw Vortex blast a hole in the canopy of the forest. Her confusion mounted when he transformed into his alternate mode of a helicopter, an object she had never seen before. A door opened at the front of the vehicle and Vortex's voice came from it, a decided chill in his tone.

"Get in" was all he said.

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Xenophilius Lovegood was in pain, lots of it as matter of fact. The Death Eaters had struck without warning or mercy, as was their tactic. He was glad that his daughter was not present for this most unpleasant encounter with the Death Eaters.

"Now, once again, you foolish toad, tell us what you were working on" a Death Eater screamed, casting the curse of pain.

Xenophilius grunted and grit his teeth to stop from making a scream: these bastards didn't deserve the satisfaction. He was faintly aware of the sounds of other Death Eaters roughly looking through what remained of his research area. He couldn't fathom what they would want with his research; most of the world didn't believe what he published anyway.

'Unless….' He suddenly remembered something Luna had mentioned in her letter home after a few weeks into the year.

It was the word Horcrux; she'd heard Harry muttering it a few times apparently and the word had fascinated her enough to mention it. At first he'd thought nothing of it, dismissing it as just some new word that the kids were using at school. Then, he'd come across it in a few articles he'd been proofreading from his regular contributors.

'And so began that little line of enquiry' he groaned as he tried to move.

As the Death Eaters argued, none became aware of the slight thudding sound in the air. Vortex hovered above them, using his scanners to take stock of what was going on and devised some appropriate tactics.

'Looks like we've got seven hostiles among a single friendly' he thought.

"Luna, I'm going to display an image of all the people down there: point out your creator" Vortex wanted to be sure he rammed his weapons up the right afts.

Swallowing, Luna reached out the three dimensional display and touched her father's image. Vortex thanked her and turned it off and went back to pondering: his basic medical scans saw that Luna's father was still alive and not in imminent danger of shut down. He was however in immense pain.

'This will require finesse and skill' Vortex thought and activated his tactical systems.

As if seeing it on a view screen in his head, Vortex took the already three dimensional map out of the area and locked onto the other bodies using pheromone, heat and the strange energy signature they displayed. Then came choosing the pay load to deploy: missiles would certainly gain him a twisted satisfaction but that would incur a civilian casualty. Then he remembered the laser pods on his outer pylons.

'Ah yes, independent target seeking class 3 laser pods. I forgot I had those' he thought with malice and assigned a barrel to each Death Eater.

"Okay Luna, we should have your creator out of there before you can blink" Vortex confirmed his decision and fired his payload.

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Xenophilius was watching one of the Death Eaters fiddle with something when a strange shower of blue light followed by some screams and then the distinct sound of bodies falling the ground all occurred in the space of three heartbeats. Blinking he became aware of that thudding noise getting louder and louder and a wind was picking up.

"My word" he muttered as the obviously Muggle contraption landed mere inches from him.

Xenophilius gasped when he saw his daughter jump from the vehicle and run towards him, skidding to a stop and dropping to her knees to embrace him. The vehicle, now seeming to operate on its own, opened a door at its side. Luna quickly got to work.

"Father, can you stand?" she asked.

"I believe I can" Xenophilius muttered and painfully stood up, putting some weight on his daughter.

"Okay, come on, follow me" Luna guided her father to Vortex's open passenger side.

Gently helping her father inside, Luna was taken aback by the stark and purely functional interior of Vortex's alternate mode. Giving it no further thought after he father grunted in pain, Luna sat him down, allowing Vortex to gently wrap some restraints around him.

"Strap in, Luna. And then, point me in the general direction of a safe place for you two" Vortex knew enough that these two could not go to a human hospital.

"About twenty five miles that way is Ronald's house, but the Autobots will be there" Luna remembered that today would be when the Autobots met the Order.

'I'll use the White Signal' he thought as he took off, making bee line in the direction Luna had pointed.

'I just hope Drift doesn't shoot me out of the sky' Vortex though, his somewhat unprofessional behaviour at Kytanium coming back to him.

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Rufus Scrimgeour could not believe his eyes or ears. It had spoken, the golden orb, now known to them all as Vector Sigma had spoken. He roughly composed himself and tried to look as dignified as possible.

"Forgive me, I am Rufus Scrimgeour and I am the Minister of Magic" he announced as importantly as he could.

"I do not recognise that designation: where am I?" Vector Sigma's glow seemed to pulse as it spoke.

"Well, this is the Ministry of Magic, in London, England" Scrimgeour explained.

"What world am I on?" Vector Sigma's tone was getting distinctly aggravated.

"This world is known as Earth" Percy replied before the Minister could answer.

Vector Sigma's glow became consistent and bright that the wizards took as a sign of anger. Suddenly the glow died down and a light began to take form before them. It stood near eight feet in height and almost half that across the shoulders. The light then took colour and detail.

'My word' Scrimgeour thought.

The figure before them looked like an old man, a beard sat upon his face that trailed down to his chest in three long white braids. His face seemed wise and just, pale blue eyes in his head and a long staff in his outstretched hand, a cloak covering what remained of his body.

"I have taken this form so as to better communicate with you" his voice however was uncompromising and stern.

"I see" Scrimgeour said, shooting Percy a look to shut up.

"Why have you reactivated me?" Vector Sigma asked.

"Well, to be honest we weren't sure what you were. We found you and your, key, buried underground" this time Rocksalt answered, keeping his composure.

"Why did you remove me, did it not occur to you I was there for a reason?" the man thundered.

"Well, since you displayed none of this sentient behaviour beforehand, we assumed you were an artefact" Rocksalt was the only one answering questions now.

"A mere artefact, you foolish organic" Vector Sigma shook his head, laughing darkly.

"What do you mean?" Scrimgeour demanded: this was not turning out well.

"My reactivation will cause the coming of a great Darkness for your world, a darkness the likes of which that puny, child like mind could not comprehend in a million lifetimes" was all the reply Scrimgeour got.

As quickly as he appeared, the man left them. Then Vector Sigma's key hatch closed and he lowered himself to the ground; his golden glow slowly fading until the room no longer bathed in his light, again lit by the measly glow of firelight.

"Lock it away, Rocksalt. Do you hear me, lock this thing in here and never open the door to this room again. And I'll have you all swear by your magic never to speak of this to anyone" the Minister was clearly shaken, as were most in the room.

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Harry and Tonks were sitting under a tree with Rally, Ron and Hermione just talking and allowing Harry and Tonks to engage in what was soon to be rare together time. Burnout was in the house with most of the other adults, discussing plans to get their help in using Transfiguration to create raw materials for building.

'The twins are…around somewhere' Harry kept a sharp eye out; it wasn't that he didn't trust Fred and George: Tonks didn't.

The only ones that hadn't moved from their previous position was Drift. He was still having a nap with Ginny in turn napping on his foot which somehow was comfortable for her. Rally merely gave her sleeping brother a cryptic look and shook her head with a smile.

"What?" Ron asked, following the Femme's line of sight.

"Nothing, but it looks funny you must admit" Rally said.

Ron conceded the point and returned to conversing about Quidditch with Harry while Hermione leaned against Rally's leg, reading a translated piece of a Cybertronian literature on what Rally called a data pad. Tonks was just content to sit and replenish her strength after that Apparition had taken so much out of her.

'So very peaceful, but if Molly catches us I'm for the high jump' Tonks thought, snuggling closer to Harry.

A steady thudding slowly threw off the silence, Hermione and Harry recognised the sound instantly: a helicopter. Rally immediately began scanning the sky, contacting Gauge and telling him to stand by in case of attack. Slowly a shape came into view: Rally's optics widened.

'A White Signal. But the only ones who would use that would be…' she trailed off and spoke.

"…Decepticons" she muttered.

"What?" Tonks was on her feet in seconds.

"That's a Decepticon, but whoever it is, they're transmitting a truce signal: meaning they aren't here for a fight" Rally drew her weapon but kept it at her side.

By the time the helicopter had landed, most of the people from the house had assembled outside. Much to everyone's surprised, Luna and her injured father got out of the side of the vehicle.

"Luna, what on Earth happened?" Molly asked, helping the girl with her father.

"We were attacked by Death Eaters" Xenophilius said with some effort.

To add further to the confusion, the helicopter began to change shape and become a man shaped robot. He towered above Rally and looked more like a fighter: Rally recognised him in an instant and scowled.

"Vortex" she hissed, clicking her safety off.

"Rally! Stand down, he's here under a flag of truce" Burnout quickly got between the two larger robots to prevent violence.

"What are you doing with Luna?" Rally asked, practically snarling.

"Rescuing her creator from some decidedly unpleasant characters. Is there a problem with that?" Vortex stepped forward, his impressive bulk towering over the smaller beings.

"Luna is this true?" Dumbledore asked, seemingly not afraid of the large Decepticon.

"Yes. Vortex saved my father and brought us here" she answered.

Rally seemed to back down a little, still throwing a contemptuous glare are the Combaticon; which he pointedly ignored. Madam Pomfrey saw to healing Xenophilius while Vortex tracked Luna almost anxiously.

"He will be fine, he has some cuts and bruises but other than that he is okay" Madam Pomfrey announced happily.

Harry took a moment to study the Decepticon up close: somehow he envisaged something more monstrous or savage looking, despite what he'd seen on the hologram recording. Yet Vortex was just like the others; although his face lacked a mouth and individual eyes and as a result he was less expressive. He supposed that was part of the reason Decepticons were feared: their faces were so…blank.

'But the eye or eyes' he wondered, staring at the optic bar that stretched across Vortex's face.

"Well, that being said Luna, I shall take my leave" Vortex transformed again and powered up his rotor blades.

"VORTEX!" Luna cried over the din of his engines.

"Yes?" he replied.

"THANK YOU" she screamed back, knowing he would hear.

"You're welcome" Vortex lifted off as he spoke, thundering away into the distance.

While the rest of the group sat and talked amongst them selves, some were getting the full story of Xenophilius's assault and extraction and others making sure Luna had survived her encounter with the Decepticon soldier, Vortex. Ginny now fully awake from the din ran and hugged her friend tightly. Drift meanwhile, slowly came online and stood up, stretching his abused metal body.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"A visit from Vortex" Rally said in a low voice.

"Oh…OH" Drift realised he'd slept through a Decepticon being present.

"Professor?" Luna addressed Dumbledore with a pleading look.

"Yes my dear, what is it?" he asked.

"What is a Horcrux?"

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Location: Planet Cybertron.

Sector: Northern Hemisphere.

Area: Iacon City Forward Operations Base.

Autobot communications officer and code breaker Blaster sat at a large control panel in the main communications array of their base; his multi-tracked mind checking, deciphering and encoding several communication signals at once. To an outsider, it seemed as if Blaster were in a state of shut down since he barely moved, the lines flicking across his optics the only signs of life.

'Hello, what have we here?' a strange signal came into his head.

A quick analysis of the signal indicated that it was a simple distress beacon: Autobot standard frequency for long distances. Its origin was many light years away, indicating that it had been travelling for some time.

'Okay, just check the embedded code and match it against records' Blaster extracted the serial code from the signal and checked it.

"By Primus, that beacon was on the Prowler" he muttered.

"Tracer, get up here and take over" Blaster called to one of his subordinates.

"Aye sir" Tracer sat down in the main seat as Blaster stood and left the room.

Taking a lift down from the Communications Array, Blaster headed towards the Tactical and Strategic Development base. He needed to speak to someone specific, Prowl.

"Prowl, you in here?" he called, seeing several tacticians in the room.

"Over here Blaster, what do you need?" the ever logical Prowl responded, going back to his planning.

"You wanted to know if I got any word about the Prowler, which was escorting a prisoner or something, I just got a distress signal from one of its beacons" Blaster said off hand.

Prowl stopped what he was doing and looked up at Blaster, who wasn't in on exactly what the Prowler was doing nor who was on board. Asking one of his own officers to take over, Prowl grabbed Blaster and yanked him out of the room.

"Prowl, what the Pit?" Blaster exclaimed as the door shut behind them.

"Was there any other information in the signal or was it just the distress call?" Prowl got to the point.

"Just the distress call, nothing more" Blaster confirmed.

"Okay, thank you Blaster and apologies for getting bit rough; I have been waiting for some time to get information on that" Prowl appeared to calm down and turned to leave.

"I'll just go back to my post then?" Blaster called out.

"You do that, I need to speak with Prime and Red Alert" Prowl disappeared around the corner, heading to the Security area.

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Red Alert was at best described as jittery and at worst, as delusional, paranoid mess. When Prowl entered the room, the mech seemed to be in one of his more lucid states, seeming almost relaxed: Prowl knew as soon as he mentioned his information, that would change.

"Red Alert, we need to talk" Prowl said seriously, closing and locking the door.

"About what?" he asked.

"Blaster picked up a signal from a beacon pod off the Prowler" Prowl admitted.

Red Alert immediately lost any semblance of keeping it together. He began running around his office, picking up data pads and throwing them around, looking for something and yabbering on about nothing and everything: none of making any sense. Prowl knew that it was best to let him panic for a few minutes to wear himself out and then give him a bit of a rest, then speak.

'Best signal Optimus while he's having his fit' Prowl thought and sent an electronic message to Optimus Prime via a private communication link that existed only in the command staff.

By the time Red Alert had calmed down, Optimus Prime had arrived at the Security Director's office, an urgent look in his optics. Prowl unlocked the door to let his Commander in. Red Alert, now back to his lucid state asked the first of many questions.

"Are we going to get them?" his optics flicking between Optimus and his Chief Strategist.

"We have no choice, the last transmission I received indicated that the Combaticons were after them, not a group to be trifled with at the best of times" Prowl said.

"To say nothing of their history together" Optimus added in a low tone.

"Indeed, but the signal had travelled some distance according to Blaster, I'm going to seem him later about the location of the signal. Once we have that, we can schedule a rescue: I'd advise a small crew personally" Prowl explained all he had.

"Agreed: you, Ratchet, Ironhide and I will go" Optimus declared.

This sent Red Alert into a small seizure of worry and anger. Again, the two other Autobots simply let Red Alert rant and tire himself out before speaking again.

"Red Alert, the Autobots will be under the command of Elita One; and we won't be setting out for some time: Megatron has launched an offensive not far from here: as soon as it is repelled, then we will depart" Optimus nodded curtly to his two officers and left.

"He intends to take the upper echelons of our whole command on this jaunt, Prowl you can't seriously condone this" Red Alert exclaimed loudly.

"I can, and I will. Elita One isn't second in command of the Autobots for no reason, Red Alert. Jazz is staying, you're staying. Elita One, Chromia, Arcee and First Aid are more than capable of handling things" Prowl tried to assuage the feelings of paranoia in Red Alert.

"I appreciate that Arcee is your protégé and talented, but she isn't you: Chromia hasn't seen field combat for a while now and Elita One is…less even tempered than Optimus" Red Alert mumbled.

'Oh for Primus sake' Prowl thought.

"I would advise not letting Ironhide hear that you said that, to say nothing of the several new outlets that Elita One _will_ tear in you for doubting her officers. We'll be fine Red Alert" Prowl just patted his old friend on the shoulder and left the room.

Prowl trekked back to the Communications Array to speak to Blaster again, to get the location of their destination and any other information he could. The walk was sobering for him: as much as he hated to admit it, Red Alert's points weren't entirely out of order.

'Then again, if Elita One was in charge for so long, then decided to leave command to Optimus, he'd have the same fits' Prowl had to chuckle.

"Blaster, were you able to back-trace the signal to get a location?" Prowl asked.

"I can try, but it was from a long way away, Prowl, doing an effective trace will take up at least fifteen planetary cycles" Blaster answered.

"Do it, inform me the instant you have a location" Prowl said firmly.

"No problems" Blaster then set to work.

Prowl left out some air from his vents, it had been a tough decision to ask Rally and Drift to take Bonesaw, or Burnout as he now used as an alias, to safety. They didn't know the true extent of who he was, and hoped they never did. Prowl didn't like keeping secrets from his own, least of all two of Jazz's best troops.

'I feel dirty' Prowl thought and headed for the wash racks.


	22. Chapter 22

Oxford Street has a reputation as being the busiest street for shopping in the world, also the densest

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Oxford Street has a reputation as being the busiest street for shopping in the world, also the densest. And now, on the last weekend before Christmas it was packed to the brim with people bustling about like ants before a storm. A young couple strode through the throng seemingly content to be in each other's company. A young Indian man and a young Asian woman, smiling and laughing at a joke only they knew.

"Benny you may think you're the funniest thing on Earth…oh hell you are" Rosalind giggled and jumped on her fiancé's back.

"Bloody hell babe, you're getting heavy: you sure that's just pregnancy you've got in there?" he asked with a grin.

Rosalind swatted Benjamin's head with a grin and linked her hands together in front of her, leaning on his head. This would be their fist Christmas together since their engagement in April. At the moment they were shopping for gifts for Benjamin's sister and mother.

"I love you, you know that right" Benjamin said, smiling and looking up at his wife to be.

"Yeah, but reminders are always nice" Rosalind smirked, her black hair falling down to frame her face.

A sudden explosion rocked the busy street: rubble and glass spraying the thousands strong crowd. Benjamin took a brick to the abdomen, doubling him over and making Rosalind fall forward off his back. Quickly reverting to her Judo training, Rosalind angled herself to one side, so as to absorb the impact on her shoulders and not her back or pregnant stomach.

'Jesus I can barely breath' Benjamin thought as he struggled to see through dust and tears.

The explosion had affected his hearing badly, and he was pretty sure he could feel blood coming out of his ears. Looking around he saw his fiancé get up shakily in the haze. Then there was a green light and she fell down, seemingly lifeless. Benjamin couldn't believe it and reached out for her, her brown eyes without that spark they always had.

'No, no fucking way this isn't happening' he thought, looking around.

Quickly thinking to play possum, Benjamin lay down and reached inside his jacket and grasped his ASP. A man stepped past him, calm and collected in the panic dressed in an ankle length black robe with a mask on. His vision improving he could see two more behind him.

'Oh you bastard, you're mine' Benjamin used the cover of sirens to extend the ASP.

As the man clad in black stepped past him, Benjamin leaned up and with all his might swung and caught the man on the back of the knees. He collapsed with a grunt, hitting the pavement face first, Benjamin followed up with a swift strike across the back of the shoulders. The man in black slumped down, defeated.

"Right, which of you bastards is next?" he snarled, still dizzy from the impact and explosion.

A could of smoke and dust obscured his vision for a few seconds and when it cleared the other two black clad people were gone. He looked around, frantically for them but only saw emergency personnel going about their business. Suddenly a familiar face appeared in front of him.

"Benny, what the bloody hell's going on?" Benjamin recognised his friend and fellow Metropolitan Police officer, Gabriel Towne.

"Gabe, this, this scummy bugger, he did something to Rosa, she's dead mate" Benjamin broke down in sobs, adrenaline wearing off.

"What" Gabriel looked over and saw his mate's fiancé and a man clad in black.

"Don't worry mate, you got him, he'll bloody well hang for this" Gabriel waved over a couple of paramedics to tend to his friend.

Without much ceremony, Gabriel put on some gloves and began searching the unconscious man. All he found was a stick around sixteen inches long. Taking no chances, he placed it in a large evidence bag, sealed it and wrote a few quick notes. He noticed the man groan beneath him and realised that he wasn't as out as Benjamin thought he'd been.

"I am arresting you sir, on suspicion of murder. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence" Gabriel cuffed the man and hauled him to his feet.

"Sarge. Got one over here" Gabriel shouted as he approached the sergeant on duty at the scene.

"Did you get a name?" the Sergeant asked, producing his notebook.

"No identification on him sir, he'll have to head over to Westminster Hospital. PC Badal was here: says this man killed his fiancé sir, and I believe that PC Badal used his personal ASP to subdue the man" Gabriel handed the cuffed man to another officer, PC York, for a trip to the hospital.

"Oh shit, go to the hospital with him, I'll send Bob Cryer around to pick up this crackpot in an hour or so. Off with ya then" the sergeant shooed Gabriel away.

Gabriel took a quick look around and saw the ambulance that his friend was getting loaded into and jogged over. He indicated to the onboard officer that he was to accompany this man to the hospital. With a curt nod the PC got out and resumed his previous duties. Gabriel leapt into the back, slamming the door shut.

"LETS GET A MOVE ON" he called out to the driver.

Bob Cryer had been hoping for a peaceful day: Christmas was a bloody nightmare period to get stuck working on and he'd pulled near the bloody lot of it. Fortunately being Duty Sergeant had a few perks, one of which was time spent nearly all in the station. As he began work on the next folder worth of paperwork to be done, his desk phone rang.

"Bob Cryer" he answered.

"Sir, its Gabriel. Benny's been hurt" Gabriel began.

"What the hell are you talking about, hurt how?" Bob asked, clearly not up to speed.

"Sir, turn on the telly in your office" Gabriel advised.

Bob saw no reason to refute the request and turned on the small TV in his office. Instantly he knew what Gabriel meant: the explosion was the top news story across all the channels.

"Holy hell, what happened to Benny?" Bob hissed down the phone.

"He got caught in the explosion. And after that, Jesus, sir you'll never believe it" Gabriel started to break down.

"Believe what PC Towne, spit it out man" Cryer urged.

"Some nutter, just up and killed Rosalind. He got the bastard though, gave him a couple of good wallops with 'is ASP" Gabriel felt vindicated saying that out loud.

"Did you arrest the man?" Cryer was standing at the desk now, his free hand grabbing his belt and hat.

"Yeah, he's down in Westminster Hospital, York and Della Costa are watching him: he so much as farts, we'll know" Gabriel affirmed.

"Good, I'm on my way down, I want to see this man and be there to question him when he is most able. I'll see you in fifteen or so Gabriel" Bob hung up and grabbed his sweater, pulling it on over his shirt.

After affixing his cap and radio, he hollered for a car. When told there were none left, he practically flew downstairs and grabbed the keys to DCI Galloway's new Ford Laser just as the man was coming in.

"Hold on there Bob, what the hell is this?" Galloway asked, confusion on his features.

"Bloody terrorist attack on Oxford Street, all over the ruddy news Roy. Get your arse upstairs, Super will be wanting you soon" Bob called as he reversed the Laser out of the police garage and tore off down the road.

"Shit a brick" Roy broke into a run to get to his own office.

Fifteen minutes later, Bob Cryer arrived at the Westminster Hospital and strode purposefully into the reception area. He asked to see PC Benjamin Badal and was directed to the appropriate room: upstairs and third on the right. Thanking the nurse, Bob ran up the stairs, no mean feat for man in his early fifties.

"Gabriel, what's going on?" Bob called to his PC.

"Sir, he's gonna be okay, nurses said his eardrums were damaged but they're repairable" he assured his sergeant.

"And what of our mystery murderer?" Cryer changed his subject of enquiry.

"Speak of the devil" Gabriel said as he saw a door open.

PC York and PC Della Costa were escorting the man towards them: he was of an average height, dark brown hair and crazy bloodshot eyes. He wasn't struggling but rather looking around in awe, as if he'd never been here before.

"So who's our John Doe?" Bob asked as civilly as he could.

"No idea sir, no ID on 'im or nuthin'. All he had was this piece of wood, and this tattoo on his left inner forearm" PC York provided Bob with the evidence bag and a Polaroid photograph.

'No bloody way, it can't be' Bob thought as he saw the 'tattoo' and wooden stick.

"York, you and Della Costa take this man back to the nick, bung him in a holding cell for murder. No one talks to him, understand. No one until I get there" Cryer spoke to the two men in front of him.

"Okay sir, as you say" Della Costa replied and assisted York in frogmarching the man down to a waiting Panda.

"Gabriel I've got to make a phone call, I'll be about five minutes: for the moment, you watch Benny like a hawk" Bob called over his shoulder as he ran to use a pay phone.

Arriving at the pay phone, Bob put in the requisite few pence and dialled a number he'd be given a long time ago. The phone rang a few times until a female voice answered.

"This is Zoe, who is this?" she asked.

"Sergeant Robert Cryer, London Met, handler code Tiger. Listen I need to speak with Melissa Demarco, its urgent.

"Okay sir" the young lady recognised the code and placed him on a transfer.

Bob waited impatiently, tapping his foot as the phone system played obnoxious music that was specifically designed to drive people mad. Why these guys couldn't at least just let their staff play a CD over it or something he'd never know.

"Bob, you old rogue what brings you to my phone?" a jovial sounding voice broke his irritated reverie.

Melissa, you know that little memo you sent around about six months ago, about crazy men with sticks and tattoos?" he asked.

"Good god yes I do, why?" Melissa's tone stopped sound so jolly.

"Well, we've just arrested one. I've got his little wooden stick and a photo of his tattoo, matches your materials exactly" he said, folding his arms.

"Where is the man now?" Melissa grabbed a legal pad and a pen.

"He's being escorted to Central London Police station. I've ordered him in a cell, no contact until I get back. For the love of all things Holy, send some of your boys around to pick him up" Bob implored.

"I'll have armed agents at your station within the hour: keep a close eye on him, Bob, he so much as twitches and you belt him. He doesn't have an English passport, he's got no right as far as I'm concerned" Melissa finished her writings.

"Okay, see your men in an hour" Bob hung up and grabbed his hat and walked back to Gabriel.

Melissa put her phone down and swore, loudly. These bloody fanatics; if they didn't have enough trouble dealing with Real IRA and other home grown and foreign fringe groups and terrorists. Muttering a string of oaths she left her office and went down to the Hub.

"Thomas, Will, Sarah. My office please" she called to one of her top teams.

Agents Thomas El-Fadil, William Pond and Sarah Littleton took their boss's serious tone in and moved with a purpose. Quickly grabbed some pens and paper they gently jogged up the stairs and entered her office.

"Okay, does any body remember this memo?" Melissa asked, holding up a yellowing piece of paper.

"A bit hard to forget a memo delivered to you by a bad tempered barn owl" Sarah muttered.

"Indeed. I just got off the phone with Bob Cryer, one of our contacts in the Met: they have one of these crazies sitting in a cell at the Central London Police station" she dropped the bomb.

"We, we have one in custody?" Will's face lit up.

"Bob is keeping an eye on him hopefully. You three get kitted out and head over there" she said, dreading the next conversation she had to have.

"Yes ma'am" they all replied and left the room.

"Oh and I'll remind you of the same thing I told Bob Cryer: this man has no record of birth or citizenship that we recognise in the United Kingdom: he does not exist. Do I make myself clear?" Melissa held her hands in a steeple like shape.

"Crystal clear" Thomas said, the others nodding their understanding.

The three agents left the room to travel down the armoury for their equipment, chattering among themselves about the issue at hand. Melissa watched them go, contemplating the situation at hand. The Ministry of Magic liked to think it had a good spy network in Whitehall but in reality, they were rank amateurs. They themselves had several spies within the Ministry and indeed one in the fabled Hogwarts School.

'If this is the game they want to play, then they're going to soon learn why England has survived as long as she has' Melissa organised her brief notes and then left her office.

Thomas and his two compatriots arrived at the armoury and checked out ballistics vests, hand cuffs, batons and pistols. A quick check of the weapons, securing them and spare magazines to their belts and donning their ballistics vests made them ready to go.

"What cars are available from the pool?" Sarah asked the clerk when they arrived at the garage.

"A few Honda coupes, but you're transporting a prisoner I take it?" he asked.

"Yeah, anything else?" Sarah prodded.

"Ah, here ya go. New Beamer 750, right up the back, maroon I think" he said, chucking the keys to her.

"Make my day and tell me it's a manual?" Sarah asked, eyes wide with hope.

"Six speed sports" he confirmed with a wink.

'Oh shit" Thomas and William looked at each other in mild fear: Sarah loved to drive and the 5.4 litre V12 presented her with an unparalleled opportunity.

"Well, the day won't be a total loss then" she said, jogging towards the car: her two companions following behind.

The drive to the police station was a fast one, Sarah enjoying every bit of horsepower she could gain from the large engine. It's deep rumble reverberating through the chassis of the car, lulling its occupants into a relaxed state.

"How should we approach this guy? If that brief is anything resembling accurate, he'd be very dangerous" Thomas said, body shifting as Sarah performed a drift around a corner.

"Safeties off, holsters open, trigger fingers itchy" William muttered, checking the safety on his was indeed on, for the time being.

"We're here" Sarah intoned gravely.

Parking underground, next to Roy Galloway's Ford, the three agents exited the BMW and walked inside, presenting their ID's to a station officer. They were directed to Duty Sergeant's office as requested.

"Sgt. Cryer, I'm Sarah Littleton, these two gentlemen are Agents Thomas El-Fadil and William Pond and we are here to collect the prisoner you have" Sarah got straight to the point.

"Here to pick up my toe rag I take it?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"The one and only. Has he said anything?" Thomas asked, fingering his pistol.

"No, he's made a few random rants about some Dark Lord and an uprising or some equally fanatical nonsense" Bob said, running his hands through his hair.

"Take us to him, we promise it will be the last time you see him" William shot the policeman a grave look.

"Follow me" Bob led them out of his office and down to the cell blocks.

"York, Della Costa! You're relieved, get some sangers or something: the prisoner is being signed out into the custody of higher officials" Cryer indicated the three people behind him.

"Right you are sir" PC York said and moved double quick; Della Costa fast behind him.

Once the two young officers were out of sight, Bob opened the cell and let the three MI5 agents in. The Death Eater, as Bob recalled they named themselves, sat silent and angry looking. He was not restrained but food, water and possibly waste was smeared across the walls. 'Death to Muggles' was written in HP sauce on one wall.

'Charming character' Sarah thought grimly.

"Stand up" Thomas commanded.

"I take no orders from a filthy Muggle" he spat at Thomas's feet.

Without batting an eyelid, William stepped forward belted his baton across the man's face. The blow was unexpected and sent the man reeling to the floor. Bob winced, not used to seeing prisoners like that. Then again he imagined that some of the IRA suspects were treated like that.

"Let me make your position clear, dickhead. Your little Ministry isn't here to help you: you're in our hands now. Your records of birth do not exist in the United Kingdom. In short; your arse is mine" William smirked.

Sarah and Thomas, not wanting to waste more time, simply picked the Death Eater up and hand cuffed him, tightly. He began to struggle violently until William landed another blow into the man's guts with his baton, knocking the wind out of him.

"Get the evidence that came with him too" William indicated to Bob.

Bob left the room without much argument, the special Agents behind him, slowed by their now incapacitated prisoner. The evidence locker was in a room behind the sign out desk. He grabbed the large plastic bag with the stick in it and chucked it to Alec Peters who was working the desk.

"So, taking him downtown are you?" Alec asked conversationally.

"You could say that" Thomas muttered, signing out both the prisoner and the evidence.

"Ta ta me old cocker" Alec mocked the man as the MI5 agents escorted him out, past a very frustrated looking Galloway.

"Make sure he doesn't dent my motor on the way please" Roy muttered, lighting up a cigarette.

"He won't" Sarah grumbled as she and Thomas sat their prisoner in the back seat of their car, leaving William to drive.

Sarah and Thomas held him fast and tight as William drove a more sedate pace through London to Thames House. The man seemed almost captivated by London's modern offerings and sights. A nudge from his left indicated that he was to exit the car.

"Out. Now" Thomas growled.

The man sneered but complied, not eager to get punched again. He was escorted to the check in where he was again searched for weapons, identification and hidden items. Once declared unarmed and safe by the guards, he was escorted through the steel doors and down a concrete corridor.

"Is interrogation room 1 free?" Sarah asked a desk clerk.

"Yes, I believe it is" he replied and handed a key to Sarah.

"Thank you" she muttered, her and Thomas escorting the Death Eater to the room.

"This will require a specialist, go back the Hub and find out if Willy Turnkey is there. If he's not, get him on the phone and get his arse in a cab" Sarah whispered to Thomas.

"Right" he nodded and left the room.

"Where have your brought me" the Death Eater spoke finally.

"You are in the Headquarters of Military Intelligence, Section 5. MI5 for short, we are a counter terrorism, internal security and intelligence gathering department. We are comprised of ex soldiers or police, diplomats and spies. And unless you give us what we need, it will become your home for all eternity" William had a flair for the dramatic.

"What, you filthy Muggles presume to hold ME?" the man sounded incredulous at the idea.

"Yes well at the moment your weapon is on its way down to a laboratory to be dissected and examined" Sarah was more direct.

"My wand?" the Death Eater was taken aback.

"Indeed. Now if you answer my questions, this won't take long. Whom do you take your orders from and what was your objective this morning?" Sarah asked as she sat down.

"I don't recognise your authority: or the authority of anyone other than my Lord" the Death Eater stated proudly.

"And we don't recognise you as a citizen. You have no name that we know of, no known address or any other forms of ID. I could draw the gun I'm wearing, and shoot you right now and no one will care" William had indeed drawn his gun and now held it point blank the to the Death Eater's temple.

"Muggle toys" the prisoner sneered.

"At this range, if he pulls the trigger, you won't even feel the pain from impact" a new voice made them look up.

"Ah, Willy, you're in then. Excellent, this man here is requiring your special talents, I doubt anything we say will convince him to spit out state secrets, or what ever it is" Sarah muttered and stood from her chair.

"I see, well, hello young man. My name is William Turnkey, and I am an ex-Auror and also a servant of Her Majesty's MI5" Turnkey spoke very politely and sat down.

"Betrayer" the Death Eater accused.

"My dear fellow, my mother was a 'Muggle' as you call them. It was her idea I join the Royal Marines after Hogwarts. So in effect my mother, and indeed me, are both people you hate anyway" Turnkey removed the bowler hat that sat on his head and placed it daintily on the desk.

The Death Eater said nothing, slumped in his chair. Yes, Turnkey thought, this one was one of the faithful. Told from birth to believe in nothing but the purity of blood and a return to former glory. Taught that Muggles were savage and primitive by comparison to Wizards: Turnkey sniggered at that point.

'They are half right there I guess' the old man thought, allowing himself a louder chortle.

"Well, young man, let us start with who you are" Turnkey sat with his hands linked together in front of him.

"Never" he hissed.

"Imperio" Turnkey raised his wand and performed the Imperious Curse.

"Now, your name?" Turnkey asked again, more forcefully this time.

"Gibbon" the man replied dumbly.

"Thank you dear boy, was that so hard?" Turnkey removed the curse.

"You…you used an Unforgivable on me" Gibbon was incredulous.

"Yes, terrible isn't it? Sarah, be a love and get us a cup of tea each. I take mine white with five. A standard white with one for this man here" Turnkey stood and walked around the room, admiring it.

"Petrificus Totalus. I may be old my boy but I am no fool. I'll give that a few minutes to work, and some food for thought: if you think these people asking me to come here was to be cruel, it was not. It was an act of mercy: do not abuse it" Turnkey exited the room as he spoke.

William Turnkey sat down on a chair outside the cell; waiting for Sarah to bring him his tea. He had not been lying when he told that Death Eater what he did: if he failed to get anything out of him, MI5 would either handle the interrogation themselves or perhaps even transfer him to MI6 agents abroad in more, police friendly, countries.

"Your tea, Willy" Sarah smiled crookedly and handed the Styrofoam cup to her friend.

"Ah, thank you my dear. I never could work out how the mess hall here made such magnificent tea" he said, taking a sip of the warm drink.

"Perhaps the cook is a Wizard like you" she replied with a chuckle.

"Oh unlikely, no Wizard I've ever met can make good tea" Turnkey drained the rest of the drink quickly.

"Well, that should be well into effect now, I should have a report for you in an hour" he took the second cup and went back into the cell.

The Prime Minister was furious. Scrimgeour was clearly dealing with someone beyond his skills and refused to acknowledge it. As a result of that, he now had a large explosion at Oxford Street to add to the list of crimes committed by these Death Eaters. In anger he slammed the report he was reading down on the desk and picked up his phone.

"Get me General Charleston, the Home Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary. I want them ready for a meeting in the next ten minutes, they won't need prep, just their ears" he spoke to his Private Secretary and hung up.

"Kingsley, would you come in here please" the Prime Minister asked of his assistant.

Kingsley entered the room and stood tall in front of the Prime Minister and for a few moments, no one spoke.

"Yes sir?" he asked.

"Get Rufus Scrimgeour in here, now" the Prime Minister was not happy

'And I think I know why' Kingsley's mind drifted towards the reports he'd seen and heard over the course of the day.

"Sir, he doesn't come when I call him" Kingsley said.

"I'm his equal, hell as far as I'm concerned I'm his bloody boss. Tell him the Prime Minister wants to see him and to get his arse in my office in five minutes or less" the Prime Minister wasn't angry with Kingsley, just angry.

"Sir, why don't you just use the Messenger portrait?" Kingsley pointed to the ugly magical painting.

"Why not indeed?" the Prime Minister directed his attention to the figure.

"Yes, Prime Minister?" it asked pompously.

"Get me the Minister of Magic: I want him in here in five minutes" he demanded of the portrait.

"The Minister is a very busy man, I'll speak to his assistant" the Messenger replied.

Without warning the Prime Minister grabbed the picture frame and shook it violently with a look of abject fury and a growl that sounded like it came from a junkyard Doberman.

"GET HIM HERE IN THE NEXT SIXTY SECONDS OR I SWEAR BY ALL I HOLD DEAR I WILL BRING HIM HERE BY FORCE" the Prime Minister bellowed.

'Oh dear, he is really angry' Kingsley was taken aback by the violence and rage the Prime Minister displayed.

"I, I, I" the portrait stuttered.

"NOW" the Prime Minister was now nose to nose with the Messenger.

"I'll see if he's there" the Messenger said in a small voice.

The Messenger scurried out of his frame, presumably to his matching frame in the Minister of Magic office. While he was waiting his secretary informed him that the guests he was expecting had arrived.

"Ah good have them come in" he had calmed somewhat.

The door opened and General Charleston, head of the SAS entered first: a tall man with grey hair and a few shrapnel scars on his face. Behind him was the Home Secretary, Donald Oritz a short, podgy man with a fiery attitude on what he didn't like. Last through the door was Sir Arnold Hawthorne, the Cabinet Secretary of the Civil Service of the Government, a tall thin man in his early 50's with the kind of grin you might find on a Great White Shark.

"Prime Minister" Sir Arnold acknowledged with a nod.

"Sir Arnold, General, Donald. Take a seat, another guest will be joining us shortly, if he knows what's good for him" the Prime Minister muttered the last part.

Before they could ask who their other colleague was, there was a loud popping noise and a man none but the Prime Minister recognised appeared in the middle of the room. While he stunned the other three into silence, the Prime Minister fixed him with an angry glare.

"What is it Prime Minister, I'm a very busy-" he was cut off by the PM.

"Finish that sentence and I'm going to knock you unconscious" the assembled officials raised their eye brows at the violent threat the Prime Minister made.

"I beg your pardon" Scrimgeour was totally affronted.

"Oxford Street was attacked today, a massive explosion that injured almost fifty people and at least seven confirmed fatalities" he began.

"What does this have to do with me?" Scrimgeour asked, getting annoyed.

"EVERYTHING" The sudden outburst surprised everyone but Kingsley.

"This atrocity was committed by that fanatic, Voldemort's men" the Prime Minister said in a fierce whisper.

"I'm aware of the situation, we're handling it" Scrimgeour dismissed his concerns.

"No you're not and to be honest, from the reports I've read lately, you're incapable of handling it" the Prime Minister accused.

"How dare you accuse me of that" Scrimgeour snarled.

"My intelligence network is extensive, I know more than you might think and as far as I am concerned you're not doing enough to protect your own people, let alone contain this loony from affecting the rest of us" the Prime Minister bashed his fists on his desk.

"You've been spying on us" Scrimgeour realised as the Prime Minister revealed information he technically shouldn't have.

"Indeed, and I have many sources within your own Ministry. You are after all a Ministry of the British Government" the Prime Minister replied.

The three senior officials looked on in wonder and confusion: it was in fact a small miracle that they hadn't bailed out as soon as the other man had appeared from nowhere. And then talk of attacks and deaths, the Oxford Street bombing was somehow related to this man and his constituency.

'What on Earth is he going on about?' General Charleston wondered.

"Does anyone else here have no idea what is going on?" Sir Arnold asked the Home Secretary.

"Pretty much lost myself" he replied.

"I won't stand for this" Scrimgeour replied in a nasty growl, reaching for his wand.

As if by a magic all their own, every door leading into the Prime Minister's office burst open an armed guard came through, pistol at the ready. Scrimgeour had barely even touched his wand and what little he knew of the devices pointed at him, he would have no chance to defend himself.

"And I won't stand for this Voldemort, or Tom Riddle to use his proper name, blowing up shop fronts at Christmas. England has enough problems that I alone cannot solve at the moment; I won't allow a problem that I _can_ solve, to grow" the Prime Minister made no move to dismiss his guards.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, Prime Minister. This man is evil, evil to the core" Scrimgeour tried to frighten him with stories.

"Rufus, don't bother with that: my father was a member of the Army in World War II, he survived Dunkirk and D-Day. The stories he told me, haunted me. Tom Riddle doesn't scare me" the Prime Minister looked hard at Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Then you are a fool" the Minister of Magic muttered.

"I have an ultimatum for you, Minister. If you do not deal with this threat to the stability of Britain and the safety of her people, I will. Now get out" the Prime Minister stood as tall as he was able as he spoke.

Scrimgeour looked as contemptuous as he could before leaving the same way he arrived: with a pop. Once the close protection squad were assured they weren't going crazy and very sternly reminded about having signed the Official Secrets Act, they were sent on their way.

"Kingsley you can leave too, nothing more said here concerns you" the Prime Minister dismissed his Wizard bodyguard.

"Yes sir" Kingsley left the room, almost itching with anticipation.

Kingsley left through the same door he'd entered. Once he was gone the Prime Minister let out a sigh of relief and slumped into his leather high back chair. Silence reigned in the room for quite some time until he spoke again.

"Sir Arnold, be a good chap and get us all a triple scotch would you. Bring the bottle with you, we will need it before this meeting is over…probably after it's over too" he added as his Cabinet Secretary began to pour the amber liquid into four glasses.

"Yes, Prime Minister" he replied.


	23. Chapter 23

Kingsley stepped out of Number Ten Downing Street and as soon as he was past the journalists he bolted and looked for the nearest secluded alley way: he had to speak with Dumbledore.  Finding a nice quiet back street, he shuffled down it and hid behind a garbage hopper.  Removing his wand he quickly envisioned the living room of Grimmuld Place.

After materialising in the room, he had three wands trained on him: Lupin, Moody and Tonks.  A quick round of questions assured them of his identity and they lowered their weapons, among which he noticed was a pistol in Tonks' off hand.

"Kingsley, what on earth are you doing here?  You're supposed to be at Number Ten with the Prime Minister" Moody growled with a look of frustration.

"I was, he just dismissed me.  I need to speak with Dumbledore and fast, come to think of it, you three as well" the man spoke fast but clear.

"What happened?" Lupin asked getting comfortable.

"You know that Death Eater attack, in London?" he asked the assembled.

"Yes, what of it Kingsley?" the elderly Auror asked.

"The Prime Minister has just had a big blow up with Scrimgeour, he told him to deal with Voldemort, or he would" he explained.

"What can he hope to accomplish?" Lupin asked aloud.

"Don't underestimate the Muggles, Lupin.  They haven't survived as long as they have by being nice all the time.  If the Prime Minister is serious then he'll have met with at least five people that I can think of" Moody looked torn between apprehension and mirth.

"Who would have met with Alastor?" Tonks asked, taking a seat.

"The very least: the head of the S.A.S. it is more than likely that he'll also have the Home Secretary, Cabinet Secretary and heads of MI-5 and MI-6 in for meetings" Moody shared a look with Kingsley.

"Indeed Alastor is right; he met with at least three key heads of department while I was there.  He must coordinate with them if it becomes his ironclad will to move against Voldemort" Kingsley concurred with Moody; he'd learnt a lot during his stint at Number 10.

"Does this complicate our own efforts in any way?" Lupin asked, still not getting the full ramifications of what had happened at Number 10.

"It is very possible, the biggest risk is to Severus Snape, if the S.A.S. raid a meeting, Snape may get shot" Moody mentioned.

"Might get shot, well, hope springs eternal anyway" Tonks muttered.

"Who are these S.A.S. you keep talking about?" Remus pressed for more information.

"They are Muggle Britain's most formidable military force: if they get the drop on the Death Eaters, it'll be the end of them.  These boys play for keeps Remus, they're trained professionals.  Much like our robotic friends back at the Burrow" Moody's knowledge of the S.A.S. stemmed from a desire to know everything about potential enemies and allies.

"So, looks like we got a Quidditch match then" Tonks offered with a sardonic smile.

--

--

--

Burnout was looking over some schematics: he was no engineer but basic computing wasn't that difficult for a race whose very bodies ran on computers.  Rally and Drift were able enough programmers in their own right get the place up and running and Gauge it seemed had brought several tech support items with him, including a Cybertronian OS chip.

He looked over the schematics and saw the large, large hole that had been dug in the ground thanks in no small part to Fred and George.  It ran at least forty feet downwards.  The combined transfiguration skills of Professor McGonagall had furnished the Autobots with sufficient metals to erect the structures of what would soon be a small base.

'Hermione's contribution was most helpful also' he mused.

Hermione had convinced Harry to use some of his money to purchase ten PowerWave 604/132 Macintosh computer units.  It had been perilously expensive but Harry was still left with more money than he could use in a lifetime.  Although Burnout had practically and almost literally laughed himself stupid at the sight and specifications of them, Hermione's cunning plan revealed itself: cannibalism.

"Although primitive, with my nano bots and these parts, I should be able to put together a couple of decent terminals.  I wish we had access to The Prowler's computers though" he muttered, as Hermione passed him a stripped motherboard.

"Thank you" he accepted it and began fitting the last panel in place.

It had taken many hours and many days to complete the two units now sitting before him.  Although basic by his own standards, the modifications he'd made would leave any computer that existed on Earth in the dust.

"Well, let us see how Rally is doing with those solar panels" he mentioned to Hermione and went around the back of the Burrow.

Rally was (very carefully) making solar collector cells out of some the Kytanium dust, and then placing them on a metal frame, connecting them with the appropriate materials and covering them with reinforced glass, supplied by Charlie.

"How are the collectors coming along?" he asked.

"Should be about done.  Has Gauge returned with that refinery unit yet?" Rally asked back, bolting the glass down.

"They should arrive soon, transporting an item like that over such a distance clandestinely isn't easy Rally" Burnout sniggered as he picked up a solar cell under each arm.

"Smart aft" Rally snapped, lugging the remaining units on her shoulder.

As they worked, Rally had come under close scrutiny from Lupin although she wasn't totally sure why but had a fair idea.  Lupin himself however, was less sure why he was watching her other than an unshakeable feeling of familiarity and…something he didn't want to examine too closely at the moment.

'I swear I've seen her before somewhere, but that's impossible because I would remember meeting something as extraordinary as her' he mused.

Lupin knew very little of the concept of Robotics, so Hermione had explained it to him in a way he'd understand: she likened robots, to the enchanted armour suits at Hogwarts.  Then he was told to imagine that suit as a living, feeling and interactive being.  What fascinated him even more was their power to transform.

"That is a most amazing ability" Lupin said roughly, as way of starting a conversation.

"Oh I don't know, I've seen you guys do some real shiny stuff too" Rally replied, turning to see Lupin behind her.

Burnout watched the slightly awkward conversation from his spot in the work area: a curious look on his face.  He recognised attraction when he saw it and was not blind to what was slowly happening around him.

'This could get messy' was his only thought as he inspected the equipment.

A low rumble, becoming a roar mixed with the distinct sound of angry chatter began to permeate his audios.  It was Drift and Gauge, back with the refinery unit from Little Whinging.  And unless his optics deceived him, Drift was riding on the back of Gauge and the refinery appeared to have been disassembled and put in that low profile crate that Gauge had reclaimed.

'Oh Primus' he thought as the two landed.

"You oaf, get off me" Gauge did a violent barrel roll, shaking Drift off him.

Drift hit the ground with a loud thud and an amused chuckle.  As soon as Gauge dropped the crate safely to the ground and transformed, Drift leapt on him again.  Rally was torn between groaning in embarrassment and cheering her brother on.

"I know how you feel: when Sirius and James used to fight like this, I was never sure how to feel about it" Lupin offered genially seeing her frustration.

"To be blunt, right now I feel like killing him" Rally muttered, looking sideways at Lupin.

"Fair enough" the man chuckled, feeling at ease with her with a topic of common experience.

Rally studied him: if she had a bottom lip she'd be biting now.  It has been theorised that attraction knew no bounds of steel by many of the poets on Cybertron during the Golden Age.  Most mechs and femmes now disregarded that as nonsense: Rally didn't, since it would be fruitless since evidence to prove that wrong was practically jabbing her in the faceplates.

'What the Pit am I going to do?' she wondered.

--

--

--

_Chequers Estate, Buckinghamshire:_

The Prime Minister stood with a glass of whiskey in his hand and a large cigarette in his mouth.  He hadn't smoked in over seven years but after halfway through reading his supposed treaty with the Wizards (which he referred to as his 'Stay the Hell Out' agreement) he'd thrown it down in disgust and got a packet of cigarettes sent to him from the local area.

"Complete and utter autonomy of government and law enforcement, their record of birth overriding one made at one of our hospitals.  Bollocks" he snarled, violently stubbing out the cancer stick.

"Wally, when do that hand picked team of yours arrive?" he asked.

"Early morning, around 5am.  They've been on exercises in Germany the GSG-9" General Charleston answered, drinking a glass of orange squash.

"Okay, we'll have the briefing tomorrow night at around 7am, make sure the cooks do them up a hell of a breakfast when they arrive okay" the Prime Minister made a note and passed it to an aide.

"If we can return to the matter at hand, Prime Minister" Sir Arnold implored.

"Arnold, we're the only four people in the room.  For the moment, let us just pretend we're all legal experts and refer to each other by name" he looked at his Secretary of the Cabinet.

"Okay, fine, Paul.  The fact is that this document is, despite being as archaic as the Flat World theory, is still a legal document and stands" Sir Arnold explained.

"Arnold, with due respect, that's crap.  This son of a bitch has murdered British citizens.  These ruddy fools have failed to bring him to heel and their one prison has failed to contain his followers" Charleston spoke sharply, jabbing the table as he spoke.

"C'mon Don, what do you think, you have to weigh in too" Paul gestured to his Home Secretary.

Donald Oritz sat, contemplating the Napoleon brandy in his large balloon glass.  He sighed and rubbed his temples in thought, his other three colleagues waiting patiently.  Eventually he took a good swig of the brandy and spoke.

"Paul is right; this maniac intends to murder our citizens and has a plan of genocide about him that Pinochet would be proud of.  I say we use every means at our disposal to make that goal of his as difficult as possible" he explained his position.

"But the treaty…" Sir Arnold trailed off.

"Is defunct, old and was probably done at the point of a wand.  No, fuck them, Arnold, pardon my French" Paul took a long gulp of his own alcohol.

"Well, where are our other two guests.  The ones who are supposed to give us the intelligence briefing?" Wally Charleston asked.

"Oh yes, the director of MI5.  Melissa will be here soon, with a specialist expert and as much of their relevant information as would fit in their hand luggage" Paul said taking a seat and asking his aide to bring them all another club sandwich.

Not long after their third clubs in an hour had been consumed, their other two guests arrived.  Melissa Demarco, head of MI5 and William Turnkey, the ex-Auror turned spy for MI5.  After some brief introductions and less formal chatter, Melissa began to tell them what MI5 knew.

"There is this place, Riddle house, an old Lord's Manor that has been observed as a one time base of operations for these nutters" she handed out a photograph of the house.

"Before you ask, no, no one has been seen inside in a while, but we've stepped up our surveillance to include infrared" she paused and produced another photograph, this one of a large house with peacocks on the lawn.

"This is Malfoy Manor.  It is one of the worst kept secrets at the moment that Lucious Malfoy is a high ranking Death Eater.  His home is also under watch, by both MI5 and someone else" she allowed that to sink in.

"So this place is at least active, we know people are in there?" Paul clarified.

"Only so much as to know that there is a mother and son there, nasty pieces of work the pair of them" Melissa muttered.

"Who is this someone else?" Wally Charleston asked, reading his copy of the report carefully.

"They belong to a group known as the Order of the Phoenix: they're what you might call a resistance group that intends to fight Voldemort today, just as they did back in the 70's" Turnkey spoke this time.

"So they're potential allies?" Paul speculated.

"They could be, but keep in mind few if any of them will have any practical experience in law enforcement of heaven's forbid, military operations.  However, there are some young children widely believed to be involved" Turnkey paused and handed out three photographs.

"Ah, the famous 'Boy Who Lived' is in on this little ride is he" Paul muttered upon seeing Harry's photograph.

"Indeed, the other two have been his friends since 1st year at Hogwarts when he was a boy" Turnkey indicated the photos of Ron and Hermione.

"Hang a tick, am I reading this personal history correctly.  This lad was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs for many years of his life" Don spoke up, reading a report on Harry that had been sitting near him.

"Yes.  Yes it is" William sat, head hung.

"Why pray tell were these 'guardians' of his ever arrested?" Don snapped.

"Because the house is under magical bindings and wards.  Any police officer, child services or other official who came there to talk about Harry Potter, forgot what they were doing and eventually the child services mob gave up" Melissa filled in the rest of the blanks.

"Excuse me" Don got up and left for adjacent room.

"What the hell is going to do?" Turnkey asked, suspicious.

"Well, my guess is right now he'll be on the Police Commissioner, then if he's feeling spiteful, Inland Revenue too.  If he can't arrest Vernon Dursley for child abuse, he'll have him arrested for something else" Paul muttered.

"Sir, that's it" Arnold snapped his fingers.

"What's it?" Wally raised an eyebrow.

"The wizards, although privately and unofficially, interfered with the proper running and policy of Her Majesty's government.  By preventing Child Services access to Harry Potter they have broken their own treaty.  It's null and void.  We could put bloody tank divisions right in front of the school and they couldn't touch us" Arnold smirked triumphantly.

"Oh this is most excellent" Paul chuckled as he poured William and Melissa some whiskey.

"Didn't you yell and scream at the Minister for Magic about being his boss?" Melissa asked with a wry smile.

"Well yes, as it turns out I technically am but in reality the power sits exclusively with the MoM.  Either Rufus hadn't read the bloody treaty himself in a while or just yelled so loudly and angrily it scared him into forgetting" Paul looked a little abashed.

"So, might I enquire what the plan now is?" Melissa asked, securing her briefing papers.

"Well tomorrow night we need a full intelligence briefing for the SAS contingent that is arriving in about nine hours.  So we should rest up, after that Wally and the Captain will devise a battle plan, we'll need all your information on the Riddle and Malfoy places and then some" Paul explained.

"The SAS?  What do you intend to do, Prime Minister?" Turnkey sounded very interested.

"I intend, with your help Mr. Turnkey, to send this SAS team into Riddle house to eliminate the Death Eaters if there are any.  Leave their bodies as a message: we are coming" Paul sounded grave and dark.

"Well, perhaps then, a unified front is what is needed.  I recommend sir that you arrange to meet Harry Potter, and the leader of the Order of the Phoenix: Albus Dumbledore" Melissa suggested.

"How would you facilitate such a meeting?" Wally put in.

"Through our contact, it will take a couple of days but I believe it can be done" William was liaison so he fielded the response.

"Who is the contact, out of curiosity?" Sir Arnold stood and stretched his aching body.

"Let me see, ah here it is: Commander Argus Filch, Royal Marines, Ret'd" Melissa read aloud.

--

--

--

Luna and Harry sat in the most private room they could get within the Burrow.  Dumbledore was explaining to them what a Horcrux was.  The gist of the explanation as best Harry could assemble in his head was that it was a sort of safe deposit box for a segment of a person's soul.  Of course to create one, the soul had to be fragmented and only violent and malicious intent could achieve that.

'The Killing Curse…bastard' Harry thought savagely.

"So in short, Professor Slughorn's indiscretion has alerted Voldemort to the fact that we area aware of the Horcrux but not their location" Dumbledore said.

"Does that make Voldemort…immortal?" Luna asked.

"No, time is a greater force than any wizard, even one as powerful as Voldemort, could ever hope to defeat.  Although those and the ritual do prolong his life quite considerably" Dumbledore intoned gravely.

"I'm sorry to have caused all this fuss, professor" Luna said, her usually light voice a little thick with worry.

"It is okay Luna; it is rather information I'd hoped never to have to explain to people as young as you.  Although we have sent some of our people to your home to retrieve the information, Voldemort will be displeased with the death of his troops.  He doesn't have that many" Dumbledore explained.

"You're sure they were all killed?" Harry asked.

"Vortex doesn't strike me as the kind of character to use non-lethal force against an enemy.  Ms Lovegood, if you'll pardon my saying so, I think you've made a friend" Dumbledore spoke to Luna, reassuring her.

"With Vortex?" Harry thought back to the large, heavily armed robot that easily towered over their Autobot allies.

"He's not all bad…none of them are" Luna said quietly.

"It isn't our place to judge them, Harry, their conflict is older and more complex than the human race itself" Dumbledore gently chastised the young man.

Luna didn't look embarrassed about the quickly ascertained new friendship she shared with Vortex: after all he'd unleashed his weapons upon her father's attacker and flown them to safety.

"People who do terrible things aren't terrible people, Harry.  After all, Sirius and Remus almost became murderers themselves not three years ago now" Dumbledore reminded his young friend.

"Point taken" Harry said, realising that the mention of Sirius's name no longer brought a feeling of dreaded weight upon his chest.

The sudden activation of the Floo made Dumbledore and Harry head to the kitchen.  Tonks, Moody and Lupin were standing in Molly's front room looking, pensive.  Moody advised this had to be shared with everyone.  Not long after, the kitchen was packed with people and three holoforms.

"The Muggles are getting involved, Albus.  The Prime Minister had a meeting with Scrimgeour and by all accounts, tore strips off him" Moody began.

"Wicked" Ron said underneath his breath.

"He didn't appreciate the Ministry's poor efforts at containing a dangerous terrorist who's murdered British citizens" Tonks added with a wry grin.

"So what do they intend to do, I mean, they're bloody Muggles.  They never know what's going on around them" Fred said.

"Oh how very wrong you are, Fredrick.  This won't be a small time operation, sonny.  He's called in the S.A.S. and MI5, that's British Intelligence, before you ask.  The latest from Kingsley suggested that MI5 have a Death Eater in custody" Moody let that sink in.

"Oh shit" George said quietly.

"This S.A.S. mob, who are they?" Arthur asked.

"They're the top military unit in Britain.  Counter terrorism, counter insurgency, covert operations.  They do that and more" Hermione said, her face becoming a little drawn.

"This dangerously changes the dynamic of our fight, Albus.  These soldiers will enact attacks on Voldemort and his men, they'll…" Lupin was cut off.

"They'll succeed.  Even if they only do one or two raids, the S.A.S. isn't likely to leave any survivors if they can help it.  Persona non grata, the Death Eaters have been marked" Moody finished.

"This is most…interesting news" Dumbledore spoke.

"Oh wait, there is more.  MI5 have spies in the Ministry of Magic…and one at Hogwarts" Tonks dropped the big one.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's note: An UPDATE.  Sorry about the long wait but various parts of real life intruded terribly.  I'll be honest and also say I rediscovered my World of Warcrack addiction.

Thanks to pre reader Grypheon-Kydra for his input and patience with my procrastinating carcass.

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--

--

The crowd went silent, deathly silent.  Molly looked fit to burst, while the Twins went a rather pale shade, knowing their antics where now part of a Top Secret report sent to the Ministry of Defence.  The three Autobot Holoforms remained rather silent.  Hermione was muttering under her breath about someone called Orwell while Ron just felt angry.

"It isn't an unreasonable reaction" Harry offered.

"How can you say that?" Molly asked incredulously.

"Because Voldemort has murdered _people_, Muggle and Wizard, Molly.  They are entitled to defend themselves" Moody pointed out, stressing the word 'people'.

Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.  After a few minutes the sniggering (mainly their resident aliens who for some reason found their inexperience with counter intelligence work funny) died down and Dumbledore composed himself enough to answer.

"At this time, we do not know who their spy could be.  Although the list of suspects would be small, I shan't accuse without proof.  If all of you simply be careful in how you conduct yourself there won't be much change" he explained.

There was much mutterings and grumblings as the group dispersed, Harry giving Tonks a soft look over the din, one that she returned with a wink and a sly smile.  Ginny saw the look and for some reason, what ever feeling it invoked before had lessened now.

'Oh well…sometimes you get the bear' she thought and trundled outside, looking for Drift.

Ginny caught site of the Autobot quickly enough, being as tall as her house he wasn't easy to miss.  He appeared to be having a rather, heated, discussion with his sister about something but was speaking in his native tongue.

"Drift?" she called out.

"We'll finish talking on this later" Drift muttered in Cybertronian.

"Whatever" Rally snorted back in the same language of clicks and beeps.

"Ginny, what I can do for you?" he asked, smiling in a way for him was rakish.

"I'm feeling a bit, well, down.  Can we go for a drive, a fast one?" she asked eyes wide with anticipation.

'Oh I like you' Drift's smile turned from rakish to sinful.

Transforming quickly to vehicle mode, he opened a door for her to sit in the driver's seat.  Ginny practically bounded onto the seat, the harness gently slipping around her and securing her.  In a strange way she felt rather warm in the embrace and in general, now having the proper time to really think on it, awed.

'I'm sitting inside another living being…' she gently caressed the steering wheel and centre console.

Ginny had been inside one of the two Autobots a few times now, but now that she was alone she took the time to really soak in the technology around her.  All of the buttons and knobs and dials that peppered Drift's centre console and dash area.

"Okay little lady, lets burn some rubber" Drift said, making her jump.

Ginny felt the seat and indeed the entire frame of her friend rumble when the engine was turned over.  With a loud screech, they shot forward at speeds Ginny had imagined only a top quality broomstick like Harry's Firebolt capable of doing.

"This is fast" she breathed a little heavily.

"This, this is nothing" Drift smirked to himself and increased his acceleration to well past the 150mph mark that the Firebolt could do.

"How fast is this?" Ginny asked, feeling the vibrations through the frame of Drift's alt mode, a huge grin on her face.

"Just over 160mph, but that is the limit of the Earth engine design, if I turn my Alt Limiter off, well, it's a whole new Quidditch match" he said.

"Do it" Ginny was having a great time.

A few seconds of second level commands entered into the system and Drift's limiter was off.  At first Ginny felt nothing but did hear some small clanking noises and the sound of whirring gears.  Then Drift shot forward at a speed she was sure no wizard had ever travelled on any device or vehicle.  The g-forces were pushing her down in her seat but she felt so exhilarated and alive, every fibre of her body was feeling the speed.

"I turned the dampeners down a little, give you a little taste of the speed" he said, almost, a low growl.

"How fast are we going now?" she asked, a grin forming on her face.

"250mhp, now, hold onto your fuel tank" he chuckled.

Ginny heard a loud clunk from beneath the seat and suddenly felt Drift turn sharply around the corner they'd come to, skidding on the ground and easily controlling the turn before slamming his wheels straight and shooting forward like a SCUD missile.

"YEEHOOO" Ginny whooped as they performed a few figure eights and sharp S bends

They drove out further until the house was but a speck on the horizon behind them.  Eventually they stopped.  Drift ran a quick scan to determine the presence of any other Humans or Cybertronians: detecting none, he let Ginny out and transformed to robot mode.

"So, little lady, what's eating you?" he asked, knowing full well what it was.

"I think we both know the answer to that question, big boy" she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, love is a fickle thing Ginny.  Believe me I know.  I've seen some of my friends die without having ever been intimate with another" he looked a little preoccupied when he said that.

"Is that bad in some way?" Ginny asked.

"It depends on how you look at it: humans and even wizards seem to cram so much into their lives which are so short by comparison to ours, and yet you'd think that with a lifespan reaching into the millennia we'd have time enough to see to our various needs" he said with a chuckle.

Ginny had crept closer to the large Autobot, now sitting next to him allowing gentle contact between her leg and his foot.  Drift grimaced when he felt that tug at his Spark: that ever so subtle reaction that meant that this being was compatible with him in some way.  Since the obvious physical compatibility was out of any window possible, it had to be a personality thing.

'I do so hate it when she's right: oh I'll never live this down' he thought as Ginny began telling him some of the stories about Harry from her point of view.

"Say Ginny, I don't suppose one Hogsmeade weekend you'd like to hang with me would you, teach me a few wizard and human customs?" he asked suddenly.

"If you want, but why wait till then, we can head to then.  We can just go to the village that's a few miles away from home and you we can hang there if you want" Ginny suggested.

"Okay, how does this look then?" he asked and projected his Holoform at her.

"Oh my" Ginny dissolved into a giggling fit.

While in a large city with a clubbing culture like Glasgow it would be permissible to look as he did the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole on the other hand…not so much.

Drift was a few years older than her in appearance and his hair was coloured in several different ways and he had a few pierced places and Ginny wasn't even sure if she could adequately describe his odd ensemble of clothes if she only knew English.

"Okay, we'll need to work on this before we go anywhere" Ginny set her hands on her hips.

"Really, this is no good?" he said.

"No, not by any stretch of the imagination.  Can you make yourself sort of…malleable or something?" Ginny asked.

"Okay" Drift altered the hologram properties so Ginny could physically manipulate his features.

Gently biting her tongue in a concentration tic, Ginny began gently moulding Drift's face with the skill of a sculptor.  She smoothed his cheeks a bit, and moved his cheekbones higher up.  Then she set to work squaring his jaw a bit so he looked less like the androgenous heroes of some of Parvarti's Japanese comics and more like, well, at least a being that's been exposed to testosterone at one point.

"Okay, now, just make your jacket as simple as you can make it" she said.

The atoms re arranged themselves so it looked like Drift was wearing a leather RAF flight jacket in tan leather.  Ginny then directed him to make his pants look like the jeans that Tonks wore, and the simple belt that Harry had.  After smartening up his shoes and shirt and hair, Ginny took a look at his eyes.

'No, he can keep that beautiful amethyst colour' she thought and nodded.

"Now we're getting somewhere.  Yes you'll pass for reasonably normal anywhere you go now.  We also need a name for you…I think we'll call you Derek" Ginny said.

"Wait what?" Drift wasn't sure what had just happened.

"Oh quit your whining and let's go home" she said and smiled at him.

Drift laughed and again reverted to his vehicle mode and let Ginny inside.  This time, she sat in the passenger seat and let Drift try out his new hologram in the driver seat to get used to it being there.  As they drove along, a though occurred to Ginny:

'Not one part of him looks like Harry' she mused.

--

--

--

Vortex sighed as he thudded across the sky.  Onslaught would probably tear him several new ports for bugging out on them like he had.  Then again, he'd been known to be gone longer than he had been before for less so he surmised a stern reprimand was realistically all he could get while they were isolated like this.

'Oh well, such is the life' he thought to himself as he came into visual range of their current hideout.

To his immense surprise, Onslaught was there, looking unusually despondent and it was with worry that Vortex landed and transformed, studying his commander and brother with a little trepidation.

"I'm sorry…Vortex.  I kept that information from you because I wanted to protect you, although I see in doing so I've only damaged you" Onslaught seemed genuinely anguished.

"I know…I'll be okay, sir.  I've sat and thought to myself for a while, I should be fine now" Vortex gifted Onslaught with a sort of smile, angling his head and making his visor glow a certain way.

"Indeed, and for going AWOL, you'll be polishing weapons for a full mega cycle when we return to Cybertron" Onslaught spoke more officially this time.

"Yes sir" Vortex responded, standing to attention.

With a solemn air the pair turned and walked to their hidden base, though their relationship would need more mending, the path had been taken.  A deep rumbling behind him alerted Onslaught to the presence of Brawl.

"Where did we go wrong, Brawl?  When did we forsake our oaths as Guardians of Cybertron?" he asked without turning.

"Perhaps there was no moment: maybe it happened so slowly over so many cycles that we didn't notice what we had done until after we'd done it" Brawl's deep baritone unusually subdued.

"Do you suppose we can ever regain that honour?" Onslaught turned now and looked straight at his brother.

"Let me answer that with another question.  Do you remember the day you and Jazz first met and when you were his bunk mate in basic training?" Brawl asked.

"Yes, very, vividly.  He'd always bring home femmes and play music at appalling levels all time of the day or night" Onslaught grumbled.

"Do you hate him?  Now after everything that you have both done to each other?" Brawl prodded further.

"No, I suppose I don't" Onslaught eased his shoulders down to release the stress from their joints.

"Then you're still only a soldier, you aren't a fanatic like Soundwave, or Shockwave" Brawl turned and went back inside to quiz Vortex on his absence.

'Only a soldier…so when did I stop being a warrior?' Onslaught kept that part to himself.

--

--

--

Lucius Malfoy was in charge of the initiation of these three young men and one young woman into the ranks of the Death Eaters.  It was fortunate they had new recruits too, several of their members being lost in the attack on the Lovegood house.

'Our lord never did figure out who killed them' Lucius thought to himself.

"My new friends.  You have been summoned here tonight because you possess the foresight to see that Wizards of the purest blood must rule our world.  You also have a pure blood line stretching back over several generations…something you will prove tonight" Lucius paused and unfurled four long parchments.

"Prick your fingers and allow a drop for every generation you have traced" he commanded.

The three men allowed six drops to fall at evenly spaced intervals.  The woman dropped seven.  Lucius commanded them to stand back and kneel down while he completed the spell.

"Ostendo sum sanctimonia" Lucius cast the spell on each roll of parchment.

There was a crimson glow about the parchment and black mist snaked across it imprinting names on the paper in green, ominous lettering.  Once the spell was finished it produced something like a family tree on the parchment.  Lucius picked them up one by one and read them to himself.

'Excellent, pure bloods all.  The woman will be particularly useful' he sneered to himself.

"Rise up my new comrades, rise and receive your marks.  Marks that show you have the fortitude to follow us into greatness as DEATH EATERS" Lucius enjoyed it when got to do the initiations: allowed him an excuse to become dramatic.

Suddenly there was an explosion of noise and voices from outside the room they were in.  A great cracking noise like the braches of a tree snapping in quick succession and a thud like that of something heavy being dropped the grounds.

"What in the name of Mordred?" one of the young men muttered and stood up, wand at the ready.

Then there was silence, almost an eerie and foreboding silence.  The silence was broken by their door blowing open violently and loudly, affecting the equilibrium of everyone in the room and kicking up a fierce cloud of dust.  Trying their best to hold their wants at the ready, the waited for the Aurors come through.  To their combined confusion a small metal cylinder was all that entered the room, landing between them…

…Then the whole room exploded into white light and noise.

--

--

--

_Outside the Riddle House, 15 minutes earlier._

Captain Maxwell Quint would easily say this was the strangest mission he'd ever been on.  It would also count as one of his most dangerous.  The briefing he and his men had received at Checkers was…illuminating.

'Wizards and witches and werewolves…oh my' he thought to himself.

"Gentlemen, before you is our target.  The house is an old estate home.  Most of our targets are on the second floor in a drawing room.  Our intelligence indicates that there are five in the drawing room and two more roaming the grounds as guards" he explained.

His five other men nodded curtly.  They were worried, a demonstration of the powers and evil nature of these people they were here to take out had been provided to them before insertion.  Now they held their weapons at the ready, to do as they had always done: defend Britain.

"Okay captain, I have setup the anti-Apparation wards.  Your targets will not be going anywhere.  So, you may proceed when ready" Turnkey had been brought to help even the odds.

Captain Quint nodded and motioned for his men to proceed.  Weapons at the ready and face masks on; and stealthily crept towards the house.  There were no external guards so entry to the main floor was unhindered.  The night vision goggles they wore lit the otherwise darkened house in an eerie green for them.

Captain Quint heard the footfalls of an overconfident guard and signalled his men to conceal themselves as best they could.  Taking cover behind some of the old furniture and in door frames they waited for their first look at a real Death Eater.  The tell tale black robe, and the ridiculous looking mask all designed to strike fear into the hearts of many.

'Well, we know our duty' Captain Quint gave a quick hand signal to the man who could best take out the sentry.

One of the troopers drew his MP-5SD3 and set the fire selector to single shot and once his target turned his back, engaged the laser sight.  Once satisfied with the position of aiming aid, he fired two shots in quick succession.  The Death Eater bore hits, one between the shoulder blades, the other at the base of the skull.  He fell with a dull thud.

"Move and disarm, Harrison" Quint ordered.

Another man quickly went over to the Death Eater and searched him briskly.  Aside from his wand there was nothing.  Quickly snapping the wand in two and pocketing it in his vest, the squad advanced to the second floor.

The floorboards creaked a little but were barely ambient sound as Quint cleared the top stair, taking a moment to carefully scan the landing area.  There was no one there so far.  He gave a signal to advance and entered the landing.

'Voices, up here' he thought and signalled a halt.

Making the appropriate hand motions he communicated to his team that he heard four, possibly five people.  Slowing down to an almost silent step the voices got slightly louder as they got to a door.

"What on Earth?" a dumbfounded voice made them all turn.

How the Death Eater had crept up on them no one knew: but right now it was like those old western movies.  The calm before the storm while both parties sized each other up and no one moving a muscle for fear of being the first to die.  Then one of Quint's men shifted his weight, causing the floorboards to creak.

"AVADA KEDAVRA" the Death Eater snapped out of his stupor and fired the killing curse at the man: he dropped stone dead.

The Death Eater had barely time to move his arm again before he was met with a hail of submachine gun fire from the remaining members of the unit.  Before he hit the floor, the Wizard had a full clip of 9mm ammo imbedded in his body.

"Check Hobbs" Quint muttered urgently.

"Sir!" Harrison was closest and checked for a pulse: he shook his head.

"Shit, they weren't kidding, it just takes the life out of them" another muttered.

"Doyle, set a C2 breeching charge on that door, Harrison, ready a flash" Quint would make them pay for this.

With practiced movements, Doyle set the breeching charge and moved back with the remote in hand.  Harrison took up a position on the side of the door farthest from the charge.  Quint gave a sharp nod and Doyle activated the charge.  The door was flung inwards and Harrison removed the pin from his grenade and threw it in as his comrades began to flank the doorway on either side to avoid the flash.

There was a telltale white burst from the doorway and Quint signalled his men to move in: they saw five people in varying states of disorientation pointing wands at the rough direction of the door…Quint gave the order.

"Fire at will"


	25. Chapter 25

Christmas Day: a great day of merry making, and family.  Despite the cold making his joints ache and the snow irritating and causing a few of his sensors to act up, Burnout was even a little less cantankerous than normal.  Drift told him that the only reason his joints got stiff was because he was old.

"Merry Christmas" someone called out over the din of merriment.

Harry sat in a corner, not isolated but just enjoying watching others enjoying themselves.  He took a sip of the Butterbeer he was holding before taking a bite out of some turkey.

'I think I can say without reservation this has been a great few months' he smiled and gave a chuckle.

He surveyed the room and took note of all the people there making merry.  Mr and Mrs. Weasley were drinking a wine and kissing just about every thirty seconds.  Ron and Hermione were sharing a couch in front the fire, Fred and George had somehow managed to get Angelina and Katie to come around since their parents were out of town due to some absurd work commitments.

'I wonder what was so important that she had to go into work on Christmas Day' Harry wondered to himself as Katie came and plonked herself on his lap.

"Hello Harry" she said brightly.

"Hello Katie, what are you doing on my lap?" Harry got a feeling of impending doom when Angelina sidled up on the other side of him.

'Oh I'm gonna get played' Harry thought.

"There is this rumour going around, purely rumour of course, that you're dating and older woman" Angelina smiled in the sort of predatory way a cat might play with a mouse before delivering a coup de gras.

"Rumour, well, you know what rumours are like.  Remember that one about me being responsible for all that shit in second year?" he tried to sound as firm as he did then, however the obvious truth caused his voice to falter.

"Now see what I mean, Ang, he's a great seeker, according to Cho a half decent kisser and an all around hero.  Despite that, he's a shitty liar" Katie said with a syrup filled smile.

"George.  Fred.  Remove your girlfriends please before the poor boy has heart failure" Remus chortled seeing the look of abject terror on Harry's face.

Remus smiled as Fred and George did as they were asked, both women protesting that they weren't done grilling Harry like bacon yet.  Remus was no fool: some of the supposedly private looks Harry and Tonks had given each other didn't go unnoticed by the older man and despite initially needing a few minutes alone to truly sit and contemplate it he decided to leave it be: after all if that had flourished under the watchful eyes of Harry's otherworldly friends, there was no way he wanted to involve himself.

'Where is Rally?' he wondered.

Among the 'new Muggle friends' present for the party was 'Derek Drifter' a young man and his uncle 'Patrick Burns'.  Remus had searched her out, his only clue being she'd be the only female he didn't recognise.  Luna and her father were in attendance while their home was made safe and secure once again, although Remus had a feeling that larger Cybertronian, Vortex would be keeping a watchful…

'Optic, that's what they call them.  Yes, a watchful optic on the place' he gently swirled the brandy balloon in his hand.

"Remus, how are you?" an Irish drawl brought Remus's attention back to the present.

"Patrick, hello, how are you?" Remus snickered as Burnout bristled at his human alias.

"I'd be more comfortable if you didn't have to call me that name" he groused as he sat beside the man.

"We all have our crosses to bear" Remus countered, taking a sip of the brandy he'd received in Sirius's will: a very nice, smooth Napoleon.

"What does that mean?" Burnout asked, the finer points of earth religion escaping him.

"It means suck it up like a man" Remus sniggered.

"So, how did those two find out about Harry's girlfriend?" Remus asked, taking another sip: this brandy was bloody good.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Burnout denied it flatly.

Remus had to admit that Burnout was a good liar, a truly exceptional one in fact.  And although his holographic face betrayed nothing of what he may or may not be feeling: Remus knew he was lying although he appreciated Burnout's discretion for Harry and Tonks' relationship.

"You won't be telling me anything I don't already know" Remus said smugly.

"Oh yeah?" Burnout didn't mind this man prying, but there was no way he wasn't going to have fun with Remus here.

"So you know that while they were together at our base in Hogsmeade they had, what did Tonks call it again…on yes 'Hot, oily jungle sex' for about three hours and that Harry has an eight inch-" he was cut off by Remus gasping and spluttering.

"What??" the man hissed; clearly horrified and possibly traumatised.

"I'm kidding Remus.  They did nothing of the sort: they've fallen asleep on the couch a few times and it's very cute and all, but they're not stupid" Burnout laughed raucously at the man's scathing look.

"That isn't funny" he groused.

"It was Pit funny from where I was sitting pal" Burnout retorted.

"Remus, a word please?" Drift's voice beckoned him over to the front door.

"We'll discuss your brand of funny later" Remus muttered and got up, the brandy hitting him.

"Oh wow, I'd forgotten old Padfoot liked his liquor strong" Remus, to avoid an accusation of hypocrisy from Burnout, simply held his head up and marched proudly towards the front door.

"Yes, Derek, what can I do for you?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the strange look he was getting.

"Rally wants to see you, over in the Quidditch Pitch…alone" Drift stressed the word.

"Really, I was wondering where she had gotten to" he muttered.

"Indeed" Drift's tone was dry.

"Well, I'll see what she wants then" Remus said and went out into the sun.

'Oh Primus I hope this goes, well, not badly' Drift thought as he closed the door.

--

--

--

Over the other side of the room, George and Fred had been cajoled into a poker game with their father and older brothers.  This left Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Angelina and Katie and the more social (but still wary) Harry to themselves while Drift stood and thought.

"Ginny, who is that young man?" Katie asked, setting an approving gaze on Drift's Holoform.

"Yeah, he's been making eyes at you until that chat with Remus" Angelina said.

Ron and Harry both exchanged a look of equal parts dread and curiosity.  Hermione merely blinked a few times before taking a very long drink of her Butterbeer.  Ginny on the other hand was not phased and merely offered up an explanation.

"He's a friend of Harry's, they met in Surrey and he wanted to meet his other friends" she said confidently.

"Well, being here must know about magic and what not?" Angelina asked.

"Yeah, he's got a wizard in his family so he's very much aware of it all" Harry quickly jumped in; building off the lie.

"Wait, what do you mean making eyes?" the words finally processed properly in her head.

"You know, goo goo eyes, hungry eyes or whatever" Katie smirked, feeling particularly predatory today: must have been the nips of Firewhiskey George had used to liven up her drink.

"He's just being friendly" Ginny said, enjoying the twitching and growing red on her brother's face.

"Trust me darling, that's not 'friendly' swimming around his face, that's attraction" Angelina concurred after she too took a look.

"She's torturing me isn't she?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

"I'd say so" his girlfriend agreed.

"Harry, where did that shirt come from?" Hermione asked to change the subject.

Harry got a sort a look on his face that at one point could be confused as pure contempt but there was an affectionate sparkle in his eyes.  The shirt in question was a white one with an illustration of a blue round bodied man on it with a bright read nose and several squiggly lines across the forehead.  It was then captioned in large, bold black letters 'MR. WORRY'.

"That was a present from a friend of Remus's whom I met this year during some legal proceedings" Harry told a covert lie: no need to let them in on the secret, besides, they'd never leave him alone.

"That was nice of him" Angelina said smiling widely.

"Her, and yes it was" Harry agreed.

There wasn't much response to that other than Hermione humming 'Mrs. Robinson' under her breath while Katie and Angelina agreeing again how it was for one of Lupin's friends to give him a gift.

"Stop humming that song" Harry gave Hermione a half hearted glare.

--

--

--

Remus enjoyed the crunch of the snow beneath his feet and the crisp and clean smell of the air around him, air unmarred by Muggle pollution.  He made quickly his journey from the house and through the orchid that hid the makeshift Quidditch field.  Once he cleared the last of the trees, he saw Rally.

'What she doing?' he wondered.

Rally was going through some kind of ritualistic movement similar to the Judo that Tonks showed him once only it was much more vicious.  Some of the movements of her hands looked like they were tearing something and powerful, thrusting strikes with the palm and fist that looked like they'd break an oak tree in half.

"Rally!" Remus called out.

Rally heard Remus' voice and stopped suddenly.  Unfortunately for her, the sudden stop made her unbalanced and she rather unceremoniously and gracelessly fell over and landed on her side.  Remus of course thought this was very funny and burst out laughing.

'Oh Primus how very embarrassing' Rally thought as she picked herself up and wiped the grass and dirt off her face.

"Drift said you wanted to see me" Remus was still smiling.

"Yeah, I did…um…sit down" Rally nervously pawed the ground with her foot.

Remus conjured himself a chair and sat down, becoming a little perplexed by the giant robot's behaviour.  He'd seen Ginny do the same thing around Harry a few times although Remus doubted it was for the same reasons.

"Remus, I've not been on this planet that long and as a result some human behaviour is still…bizarre to me" Rally began.

"I've been alive for over thirty years and most human behaviour still astounds me, I honestly wouldn't worry about it" Remus said with a chuckle as Rally sat herself down.

"Remus, Harry told me that you have Lycanthropy…some kind of monthly genetic mutation…is that right?" Rally looked very embarrasses to be asked the question.

"Yes.  The, mutation or condition if you will causes me to, transform, into another creature called a Werewolf.  In that form I'm a base and instinctual creature with no knowledge of who I am" Remus found it oddly soothing to talk with someone who wasn't so judgemental.

"That reminds me of some of the Autobots…in a way" she said softly.

"Really…how?" Remus asked, clearly curious.

"There aren't many of them left now, but there was a faction of old, old Cybertronians who lived in the wild areas of Cybertron.  They joined the Autobots because Megatron killed the last of their femmes when they refused to join him" Rally explained, stopping to gauge Remus' reaction.

"Go on" he prompted.

"Although when in robot mode they function normally, whenever Grimlock and his followers transformed to their alternate modes, a more primal part of them took over: they became rampaging titans of fury.  You see unlike me or Drift, their alternate modes were animals that existed on Cybertron before us" she finished.

"Were they shunned in public, abused or discriminated against?" Remus asked

"Ironically no, but being so large and powerful, none of them were afraid to visit violence on anyone who sought to wrong them…but I still think it hurt them, up here" she paused and tapped her cranium case.

"It does…I assure you it does" Remus agreed with an understanding nod.

"This brings me to my next point, sort of.  I'll be blunt: you seem lonely" Rally said.

"It does tend to repel most women, I must admit.  A bit like some other diseases in the world.  Why do you ask?" Remus was getting that odd feeling again.

"A few months ago you met a woman in a bar…she identified herself as Raelene…" she let it trail off.

A series of synapses in Remus' head suddenly snapped to full attention, pushing past the alcohol induced fuzziness and suddenly he remembered.  A bar, a few beers and a lovely looking young soldier with caramel coloured skin and eyes as blue as the Mediterranean ocean flirting with him in the bar.

"That was…you?" he asked.

Rally said nothing and transformed back to vehicle mode.  In a shimmer of light the very familiar woman appeared, wearing jeans and a tank top and her striking black hair in a long ponytail.  A pair of woman's runners adorned her feet.  Sheepishly she raised her head and smiled a little sadly at Remus with those blue eyes he now remembered so vividly.

"Hello again" she said softly.

It was all a bit much for Remus; the combination of alcohol and shock was just too much for his already exhausted psyche and his body's natural defences kicked in and he passed out.  Rally gingerly leaned over her bonnet to look at him and felt that there was only one appropriate comment.

"Slag" she snapped.

--

--

--

_Auror__ Headquarters:_

Tonks stood unobtrusively to the side in a large room.  Aside from those working on the 'Black case', every spare Auror was assembled in this room.  Tonks saw Kingsley across the room, talking to Dawlish and another Auror called Steamvault.  The newer recruits were not present, having now sufficient experience to go about their duties without a wet nurse (or risk of blowing something up) they were attending to the more minor incidents while the experienced crowd remained here.

"Attention!" someone called as Gawain Robards strode purposefully into the room.

"Stand easy" he growled.

The Aurors all stood a little more relaxed, although most kept their hands close to their wands as a force of habit, many of them developing the habit from training under Alastor Moody.

"Approximately one week ago, there was an occurrence.  The old Riddle house, as many of you know, is the ancestral home of the family of Voldemort" he paused to allow those of lesser grit to get over their shudder.

"Although details are sketchy, we can confirm, before the story breaks in the Prophet, that a Muggle Military strike force entered the building and with surgical skill and maximum prejudice did eliminate the Death Eater presence" he finished, carefully scanning the crowd for their reactions.

Most of the assembled Aurors gasped audibly, some of them even screaming in indignation.  After a few minutes of allowing them to express their thoughts, Gawain used his wand to create a loud whistling noise.

"Okay, now that you're all finished.  It has long been assumed that this day would come.  The Muggles have been in one way or another, the victim of everything from a malicious prank to outright genocide…it seems they will take it no longer" Gawain zeroed in on Tonks for a second, taking in her worried look.

"What possible damage can they do though?" Dawlish asked.

Gawain said nothing but instead motioned for an assistant to bring in an old reel video projector.  Conjuring a large white screen and charming it to float in mid air, Gawain walked over to the projector and pressed the play button.

The images that played over the screen would haunt and stay with the Tonks the rest of her life.  The video was a short educational film that recreated the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, interspersed with smaller clips of the effects of smaller military arms.  When it was all over, Gawain again addressed his assembled troops.

"That is the damage they can do, Dawlish.  That weapon, the first one is called a Nuclear Bomb and when it exploded, every living creature in a 1,200 foot radius was reduced to dust" he said.

"Are they likely to use that weapon?" Kingsley asked, looking decidedly nervous.

"No.  That film was just to demonstrate the point: Muggles fight ferociously in wars.  They will show no quarter against an enemy" Gawain let the reality of their situation sink in.

"What does this mean for us?" Tonks asked, trying her best not to look guilty.

"It means we're in it now.  This is, as far as I am concerned a point of no return.  Okay, those not rostered on, dismissed" Gawain nodded sharply and left the room.

Tonks leaned against the desk behind her, her features becoming very drawn.  A quick glance at her hair saw that it had become blacker than her aunt Bellatrix's.  All of a sudden Tonks felt a bubbling sensation in her gut and bolted for the female bathroom.

Once in there she kicked open a cubicle, fell to her knees and vomited up whatever she'd eaten that day as well as some bile, coating her tongue and lips in it making for a foul taste in her mouth.  Once she'd finished dry heaving, Tonks washed her mouth out.

'I need to get out of here' she thought as she dried her face.

Walking with purpose guiding her every step, Tonks made it to the Apparating point in record time, ignoring anyone who tried to speak with her, even Kingsley.  It occurred to her, just before she Apparated away, that she didn't trip over anything.

--

--

--

Harry was still sitting in front of the fireplace in a chair, nursing a Butterbeer at the Burrow.  Mr and Mrs. Weasley had long since retired to bed, soundproof charming their room to allow festivities to continue.  Fred and George had disappeared with Angelina and Katie already, while Alicia had disappeared to either home or another house, no one was sure.

'Oh they're so cute' Harry thought smugly of his two friends, asleep on the couch: though Harry knew Ron would pay to all merry hell when Hermione saw that he'd been groping her in his sleep.

Luna was no where to be found, but then again neither was Burnout so he assumed that the cantankerous Cybertronian medic has escorted her home.  What also made Harry sit and think was that he'd seen Ginny and Drift's holoform disappear upstairs some time ago but then again, with nature itself working against them, no real shenanigans would occur.

"Merry Christmas indeed" he muttered, clutching a sack that held Tonks' gifts in them.

Harry and Tonks had agreed to a three gift limit for each of them.  The first had been a sort of easy gift that could be exchanged in oblivious company: Harry had gotten the titular 'Mr. Worry' tee and got Tonks a retaliatory 'Little Miss Clumsy' tee as well.  Harry's second gift to her had been picked out with some subtle help from Charlie: a dragon leather jacket, the advice being sought under the guise of getting one of his own.

'Merlin it was a drama getting her size without letting on what I was doing' Harry smiled as the thought swirled around his head like a fine brandy.

The third gift however he'd had to seek a professional craftsman.  It was a statue of a Stag, his Patronus.  As befitting the spell's avatar, the statue was fashioned from pewter.  The best part though, was that when touched it would light up like a lamp.

The door squeaked open, making Harry look up with hand on his wand; only to relax when his girlfriend walked in the door.  He smiled and waved to her and was a little perplexed when she didn't wave back.  Tonks saw him and once again, purpose clouded her mind and she strode powerfully over to him.

"Tonks are you-" Harry was cut off when she grabbed him and waved her wand, creating a temporary break in the wards and then POP, they were gone.

--

--

--

Harry focused back to the present as soon as he realised that he was in Tonks' flat: in her room, on her bed.  Also propelling him quickly into action was Tonks herself, who had somehow managed transfigure her clothes from whatever she had been wearing into a tank top and her underpants.

'Oh shit' Harry thought: he could tell by the feel of Tonks' breasts that there was no bra on underneath that top.

"Tonks…Tonks" Harry shook her and spoke, as she now had her head buried on his chest rather than creating a vacuum seal on his mouth.

"Yeah" she whispered back, too shakily to be seductive.

"Not that I don't appreciate this, but are you okay.  You seem shaken" Harry ventured, embracing her and caressing her hair.

"No, I'm not.  I saw, something…something terrible.  So after that, I just wanted some closeness" she paused and looked up at him, eyes a cloudy grey.

"What the hell did you see?" Harry asked, increasing the tightness of his embrace.

"It was a video of something…the Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki…people just…dissolved like dust" she said between sobs.

"Oh" Harry, having seen the bombing a few times already from television specials that had covered the Second World War, wasn't as affected by it.

Tonks slid up him and kissed him again, although this was much softer, less desperate than before, Harry still felt a sort of yearning from her.  That and the feel of her tears didn't help any.  Satisfied that Harry wasn't going anywhere; Tonks repositioned herself so she lay next to him.

"Stay here with me tonight?" she asked, starting to nod off, feeling a little exhausted.

"Sure.  I need some different clothes though" Harry pointed out.

Tonks waved her wand and muttered something, and Harry's good trousers turned into light cotton shorts and his shoes and socks flew from his feet.  Shrugging, Harry removed his jumper, now clad only in a tee shirt and the shorts.  After some fidgeting about with the doona and their own bodies, Harry and Tonks now lay together, clothed but still intimately close in the bed.

"Open your presents tomorrow huh?" Harry whispered.

"Yeah, for now…this is fine" she mumbled.

Harry just smiled and closed his eyes; feeling very sleepy himself and closed his eyes.  The gentle contact between their legs and arms creating warmth felt both in the heart and skin.  Slowly, but surely they both fell into a deep slumber under the watchful, impassive face of the full moon.

--

--

--

While most of London slept, deep within the Ministry of Magic, Vector Sigma stirred.  Although he realised that he'd been essentially imprisoned, he lacked the ability to move a great deal on his own.  He set about scanning the large room they'd stuck him in.

'Fools, nearly nothing is beyond my influence…now, what can I use?' Vector Sigma scan stopped and on an object his scanners deemed compatible.

Focusing his power, he imbued the lifeless object with the power and spark of a Cybertronian.  Mending its damaged panels and internals, strengthening and converting it to suit his needs.  The object in question was the now impounded, enchanted Ford Anglia that had belonged to Arthur Weasley, removed from the Forbidden Forest and discreetly placed there by some of Dumbledore's contacts.

"Arise and be born, Altenator" Vector Sigma spoke as the Anglia transformed from its now fully restored and improved car form to that of a Cybertronian warrior.


	26. Chapter 26

YE GODS AN UPDATE.  First up, apologies to all those who've been patiently waiting for this and thank AeboUmbra and Gryphon for their insights, assistances and indulgence of my tardiness and other assorted bullshit.

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--

--

"Merlin this place is as boring as bird shit when there is nearly no one here" Draco muttered to himself as he traversed the hallways.

Indeed Hogwarts was a boring place when it was empty.  As it happened to basically be at this time.  It was late at night and Draco was moving around carefully, unlike Potter he didn't have the luxury of an invisibility cloak and he needed this to work.

'Okay, here we go; Dumbledore's office.  Now where would that old fart keep those books?' he wondered, making a quick and cursory search of the bookshelves.

There was a widely circulated rumour that some of the books in Dumbledore's office were very old, and some were very powerful.  Specifically, the rumours referred to books owned by Morgana Le Fay and some other truly dark and terrible wizards and witches who'd been smart enough (or stupid enough) to put their life's work onto parchment.

"Come on, where are you damn it" he muttered.

Then a most strange thing happened: Draco pulled a book out and the bookcase slid to one side.  A stone archway and a flame lit hallway lay behind the bookcase.  Shrugging his shoulders, Draco wondered down the Hallway, casting a Lumos spell from his wand to add some brightness to the low abient firelight.

"What has that old fool got back here?" Draco wondered aloud

The hallway wasn't long and soon Draco's question was answered.  The hallway opened up in a semi circle room with three large bookshelves on them.  One was full, the other two were empty.  Carefully, Draco looked at the books on the shelves.

"I don't recognise anything…what bloody languages are these written in?" he muttered.

"Convertius" he muttered a spell he learnt from one of the Beuxbaton's boys a couple of years ago.

Suddenly, Draco was repelled from the bookcase by a spell originating from the book he'd aimed at.  The shockwave forced him back and on to his backside.  Groaning and slowly getting up, Draco decided the most appropriate response was to yell.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" he bellowed.

Walking up to the bookcase again he saw some the books encased in an eerie red aura as if the books themselves were aware of him.  To a mind of clearer thought these auras would be treated for what they were: warnings, as thorns to a bush.  Draco however, was told to get books from Dumbledore's private collection.  These certainly seemed better than nothing.

'Okay, let's see if I can touch them without them hurling me about' he gently bit his tongue and shakily reached out for the books.

To his surprise he was able to life the red book he chose off the shelf with no interference.  Seeking others with a similar glow, Draco had a small stack of books before too long.  Only one had a legible title: The Necromancer.  With a quick flourish he produced a small sack and enlarged it to fit all the books.

"Okay, time to make a quick trip" he muttered.

Draco removed a small smooth stone, at first glance an ordinary rock.  Then he tapped it with his wand and with a small gust of air, he was gone.

The stone was obviously a Portkey, and a powerful one too.  Draco held onto the sack for dear life while he was hurled though some sort of third space before landing unceremoniously on his arse in a large garden: Malfoy Manor.

"Home sweet home" he hissed, getting up and slinging the sack over his shoulder.

Walking through the door as if he owned the place, Draco entered the main foyer of the building and instead of any fanfare (in his own mind he deserved some) he was greeted with a stony, overbearing silence.  Frowning, he ventured up the stairs where he knew there was a study with an open fireplace his mother favoured.

'Is that….crying?' Draco could now hear the unmistakeable sound of soft sobbing.

Breaking into a run, he belted down the remaining distance of the hallway and burst through the doors like a force of nature.  Before him sat his mother in a dress as black as night, with a string of pearls around her neck and a handkerchief clenched tightly in her hand.  Bellatrix was there too, consoling her sister.

"Mother, Aunt Bellatrix, what's going on?" Draco's words made them gently acknowledge him.

"Sit down, Draco.  There is grim news" Bellatrix said, since her sister didn't wish to speak.

"What, what is going on?  Where is father, he's been away for days" Draco sat opposite his mother.

Narcissa's face showed signs of long, arduous sorrow.  Her face streaked with makeup and tear tracks led Draco to deduce she was not merely upset because one of the House Elves broken a vase.  That and the conspicuous absence of his father and his mother's eyes brimming with fresh tears at his mention added to the trepidation.

"Draco…your father was captured, we think, by Muggles" Bellatrix said.

--

--

--

Alternator looked around his stony confines.  Aside from the Glorious Orb of Vector Sigma, there was little of interest or consequence to him.  As he panned around he zeroed in on a door.  His scanners indicated that the door was emitting a strange aura.

'Interesting' he thought and walked over to the portal.

Gently nudging the door, he found that the field around it was disallowing the door to be moved.  Quickly calculating the opposing field frequency, he touched the door and sent his own signal out in a pulse.  After about three seconds, the immobilising field dissipated

'Academic since I can't fit through this door' he thought to himself.

Alternator stood up again and activated all of his scanners, sending out multi-frequency waves similar to a sonar system.  After rearranging the patterns he received back, which took over three hours, he had a complete layout of the building he was in.

"I need to get outside" he muttered and began to scan outwards.

Alternator began scanning, a scan so powerful that no normal Cybertronian could do it on their own.  His field of scan was penetrating the physical objects around him with ease, breaking them down to their base atomic components so that he could manipulate them.

The atmosphere cracked with power and energy.  With a great surge of his arm, the very fabric of the material world was reshaped to his whim.  A great tunnel suddenly bore its way through the Ministry of Magic, upturning desks and cabinets and people until it breached the surface.  While alarms sounded and the floo network lit up in frenzy, Alternator calmly transformed and drove up the tunnel until he ended up in an alleyway.

'I best make a getaway.  Vector Sigma, where should I go?' he communicated with the Great Orb.

'Scotland' was the one word response before his link went quiet.

Sensing disquiet below him, Alternator tore out of the alleyway and onto the main road, going much faster than was possible (and sometimes legal) for a vehicle of his alternate mode's vintage.  He spent an hour before he was able to find the sign that directed him towards Scotland.

'What waits on this strange planet I wonder' he thought to himself, setting an autopilot so he could rest.

--

--

--

Rally paced around Remus, lying unconscious in the snow.  In truth it would have been amazing if he hadn't done exactly that.  Thinking quickly, she sat down above his head and put her arms around him, pulling him up a bit.  The embrace was tight; despite being merely an avatar, she could feel him and the warmth of his body.

'I've missed this…I can't remember the last time I felt this' Rally started rocking herself back and forth, increasing the intensity of her body heat (such that it was) to ensure that Remus was kept warm.

It took about fifteen minutes for Remus to wake up; he was slow and groggy.  When his eyes finally focused properly they came face to face with her.  There was what many would call a pregnant pause and Rally expected Remus to leap from her embrace and back away.  He didn't, although he did look a little confused.

"I really do know how to pick them" he muttered.

"Yeah, I guess you do" Rally muttered, stroking his hair.

"How long until you change, I've made a scan of the meteorological conditions around here, full moon tonight and it will be coming out soon" Rally observed.

"Not long now, maybe an hour at most…tell me something" Remus looked up.

"What?" Rally asked, leaning in closer.

"When we were drinking in the bar, all those weeks ago, you called me handsome and flirted with me.  You mean it?" Remus asked, his mind racing with thoughts he dared not voice.

Rally steeled herself and leaned in and laid a gentle kiss on Remus's lips.  His eyes shot open at the feeling of what to him were soft lips.  There was a slight sort of, buzz, surrounding them but it honest to Merlin felt like he was being kissed by a pair of young, soft, and moist lips on a beautiful woman.

"Does that answer your question?" Rally asked; her face had a blush on it.

"Yeah, a bit" Remus was dazed: that was the first kiss he'd had in a long time.

"You better go, with a full moon and all" Rally said, her hologram fading.

Remus watched as she transformed again to robot mode.  He turned his eyes to her actual body.  In a strange way, he could see the attractiveness from the Holoform translate into her natural state.

Then a few things happened all at once.  The moon seemed to just melt out of the clouds and Remus seemed hypnotised by it.  Tonks had explained that the potion would basically leave Remus as a large, lethargic dog like animal for the night.

Rally watched the transformation with an almost professional curiosity.  It was odd seeing a wholly organic being change shape from one to another without the whole movement of parts like when she and her kin transformed.

'He'd be a Transformer himself in a way' she smiled.

Then however, things changed from what she assumed would be the status quo.  Instead of a lethargic dog, he looked more like some kind of beast upon its hind legs, its movements agile and jittery.

"Remus?" Rally asked and moved closer.

Werewolves are naturally aggressive creatures and as per the behaviour it attacked the first thing it saw.  Unfortunately that first thing was Rally's lower leg: Cybertanium was a much harder substance than Werewolves were used to so its attack was repelled.

"What the Pit happened to the potion?" Rally wondered aloud.

Remus had stumbled back, his basic functions dazed by the impact against a hard metal.  He looked up and slunk back recognising a creature much larger and stronger than himself.

Rally made a reaching gesture for him, but fast a jackrabbit, he bolted.  Fastest moving biped she'd ever seen on an organic world.  It then struck Rally that the direction he'd headed in was that of the Weasley household.

"SLAG" Rally leapt forward and transformed to vehicle mode.

The scent of humans carried over fire smoke had stirred the blood of the Werewolf in Remus and he'd run for it, the smell of food.  Rally was chasing him, gunning her engine, limiter disabled but Remus was zig zagging around the field.  Then he made a sharp turn, and Rally went to follow.

'Oh frag' she thought, feeling the roll.

Then the front door opened at the Weasley house and Mr. Weasley stuck his head out.  Rally was mid air when she saw him and saw Lupin making for the door.

'Friend or no, if he gets in there will bloodshed and it'll be the end of him' she made a quick decision.

Transforming and landing knees bent, Rally made a massive jump that covered the distance between herself and a few feet in front of Remus, pivoting fast she thrust her hand forward gripped Remus in her large fingers, forcing him down.

Mr. Weasley

"What the hell happened here?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, his potion was supposed to work tonight" Rally held fast against the struggling beast.

Rally ignored his further rants, focusing only on Remus as other members of the family poured out of the house to see what the commotion was about.  There was so much white noise in the background as she tried to think on how this could possibly happen.

"Oh by Merlin's beard, what will do with him?" Molly Weasley asked.

"I dunno love, but we can't leave him here, all that noise-" Arthur began.

"Noise…he's suffering under your nose and all you can think of is NOISE?" Rally turned around, bellowing the last word.

"Rally, calm down" Burnout appeared from around the back of the house.

"Sorry" she muttered, her strong grip keeping Remus from doing any damage.

Burnout knelt down and scanned Remus's werewolf body.  The changes were not sufficient to change what is essentially a human metabolism and genetic makeup.  Quickly he generated a powerful sedative and transformed his arm into the medical multi-tool and injected the sedative with a strong hypodermic needle.

The effect was almost immediate: Remus' movements ceased being strong and fast and became rather slow and weak.  The sedative took fifteen seconds more to fully render Remus unconscious.  There was a collective sigh of relief when Remus stopped struggling.

"Rally, can you carry him?" Burnout asked.

"Yeah, we'll take him down stairs" she nodded.

Gingerly, Rally picked Remus up and carried him around the back.  Standing on a certain patch of grass, Burnout pressed a button, activating the lift.  It lowered them down around fifty feet into the ground.  When it stopped, they walked forward into a room that was thirty feet tall, fifty feet wide and nearly one hundred feet deep.

"That magic really helped getting this place together in such a short amount of time" he muttered.

"Where do I put him?" Rally asked.

"On this exam table, I'll make it as comfortable as I can" Burnout said, grabbing some blankets from a shelf and throwing it on the bench.

"Okay, lay him down gently" he instructed.

"How long will that sedative keep him out for?" Rally asked, gently placed Remus down and unfurled her hand to let him down.

"The morning when he changes back.  I'll strap him down, just in case" Burnout activated some restraints on the bed itself.

"Okay.  Thanks" Rally said, sitting down.

"You told him then?" Burnout asked, attaching some monitoring equipment.

"Yeah, he passed out" she giggled a little.

"All things considered, not too bad.  What else did you do?" the Doctor eyed her carefully.

"I used my Holoform, and I…kissed him" she muttered the last part a little quickly.

"Well, this is turning into a hell of an adventure.  Watch him, carefully.  I'm going back to recharge" Burnout nodded and returned to his recharge dock.

Rally looked around at now their third base of operations and this was easily the best one so far: computer terminals, a crude communication system and a medical bay.  Their weapons sat in their crates at the back of the room behind a locked cage to prevent 'busy fingers' from getting to them.

'I miss home' Rally thought, returning her gaze to Remus.

As gently as she could, Rally lay her upper body down on the bed, encircling Remus's small form with her arms, and positioning her head so that it would be next to his.  Then she plugged herself in to a recharge port, and turned off all none essential systems.  Lastly, she generated her Holoform again, so that she was sitting cross-legged across from him.

"See you in the morning" she whispered.

--

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--

Boxing Day is classically regarded, as a day of rest and that was no different in Tonks' house.  The pair had slept in til well past 10am and eaten breakfast in bed (courtesy of Dobby) and were watching TV when Harry remembered the sack that had Tonks' last present.

"Time to exchange our last gifts" he said, sliding in next to Tonks on the bed.

"Okay, let's see what ya got" Tonks sat up, her top riding up past her midriff.

Harry shook his head a second; his brain was already running overdrive having spent the night with Tonks.  With determination he reached in and retrieved the small package and handed it to Tonks.

"Oh, this looks mysterious" she giggled and undid the ribbon on the box.

With practiced tearing, she'd opened the gift in no time.  Gingerly she lifted out a large statue shaped like a stag.  Gently she turned the statue around, examining it.  The statue was pure platinum and seemed that it was carved from a single piece of the metal.

"It's beautiful" she said.

"Put it down and tap it once with your wand" Harry prompted.

Tonks put the statue down and summoned her wand and gently tapped the Stag statue on the head.  The room was filled a gentle silver light not unlike that generated by the Patronus charm itself.

"Wow, that's…that's amazing" Tonks tapped it again to turn it off, placing it on her bedside locker.

"Well, you're the best thing to happen to me in a long time.  Despite it all, the past few months have been great" Harry smiled.

Tonks smiled broadly at Harry, and then allowed her grin to turn dangerous and without warning she leapt on him and pinned him to the bed.  Tonks laid a painfully careful kiss on his lips, dragging her lips very deliberately across his to create friction.

"Merlin, Merry Christmas indeed" Harry chuckled as Tonks got up.

"Yeah, now, my present for you isn't as…corporeal as what you gave me, but, I think you'll get it" Tonks leaned under her bed, giving Harry a great view of her bum.

'Saints preserve me' he thought.

Tonks reappeared with an acoustic guitar that was obviously well worn.  The wood was stained with lots of small nicks, stickers, and drawings in felt tip pen.  Tonks fiddled with the tuners for a few minutes, strumming the instrument experimentally after each adjustment.

"Okay, I haven't had much chance to practice this but bear with me" Tonks paused and raised the pick.

Harry was struck by the soft melancholy tune Tonks was playing, her hands gently flowing up and down the neck of the guitar creating a tune that was both beautiful and sad at the same time.  Harry closed his eyes and leaned backwards.

He wasn't sure if Tonks was putting magic into the music or the guitar was enchanted or something but he started seeing things in his minds eye.  Mainly it seemed like coloured landscapes or oscillating waves but occasionally he saw parts of his life there too.  The first time he met Tonks, when she escorted him from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place.  The short race they'd had over the Thames River and the flirty wink she gave him after they'd arrived.

Then there was their other race…the running race that changed their lives forever, and introduced them to some truly amazing beings that had shaken their view of the universe.  The tune turned a little darker and this time he saw some of the less savoury parts of his life, the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and his father, and of course Voldemort himself.  He saw himself standing on a field of some kind, all alone against the black.

Twittering voices surrounded him, Voldemort appeared and so did his legions of followers.  They advanced and for one cruel moment, Harry thought he was having a nightmare that would prophesise his death.  Then Tonks appeared beside him, dressed in battle robes.  Then Ron and Hermione.  He noticed the music had turned more upbeat and in his head he was still on the field.  Only now, he stood at the head of an army: his friends and fellow wizards, his Autobot friends and some of the mystical beasts and beings he'd befriended.

"Did you like that?" Tonks asked, setting the guitar aside.

Harry smiled and opened his eyes and sat up.  He then reached out and drew Tonks close by cupping her cheek.  As softly as he could he kissed Tonks, his other hand cradling her at the small of her back.  The kiss was short but it held enough for Tonks to know that the music had affected Harry deeply.

"It was amazing, thank you" Harry whispered, drawing her into a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas, Harry" Tonks said back, squeezing him gently.

"Fancy a coffee or something?" Harry asked, breaking the hug.

"Yeah, that would be nice" Tonks said, laying back down, her top riding up a bit till the bottoms of her breasts were visible.

"Stare at my boobs after you make the coffee" she teased, noting Harry's stunned mullet impersonation.

"Okay" he said quickly, jumping out of bed.

Tonks smiled contentedly as she heard her teapot begin to boil, clearly some of her spells worked without causing explosions or as Rally had called it 'pulling a Wheeljack'.  Then, just as things were going swimmingly well, Tonks heard her fireplace spark on.  Seconds later, there was a familiar voice

"Nymphadora dear, we're here" a bright and spry woman's voice.

"Oh no…oh Merlin no" Tonks shot up, forgetting her state of near undress and stuck her head out of her room a bit.

Thankfully a foot thick wall separated the sitting room and kitchen, but that would last only so long.  In the kitchen, Tonks saw a terrified Harry trying as best he could do hide somewhere, in fact he looked like he was seriously considering the fridge.

In the living room Tonks saw the two last people she thought should be in her house at the moment…

…her mum and dad.


End file.
